


To Melt the Snow and Mend a Heart

by sterlynsilverrose



Series: YOI Fantasy AU [1]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fantasy, No really really slow burn, Slow Burn, Viktuuri Big Bang 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-28
Updated: 2017-07-28
Packaged: 2018-12-07 13:52:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 37,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11624898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sterlynsilverrose/pseuds/sterlynsilverrose
Summary: Yuuri, a power magi with low self-esteem decides to travel around on an excursion with his old mentor after years of isolation inside the mage tower. The further Northeast they go, the more evident something is wrong.Winter has become a permanent fixture and the people are suffering. Their Lord, Victor Nikiforov hasn't been heard from since the weird weather started. After hearing this Yuuri makes it his mission to find the cause of the unceasing snow and decides to pay a visit to the Iron Fortress.What will he find when he gets there?  How will they stop the snow?The answer is a lot more complex than they first thought.





	To Melt the Snow and Mend a Heart

_I’ve really done it._

Victor stared down at the beating heart in his hand. His mouth went dry, and static filled his ears as he opened his mouth into a wide “o.” 

Had it just been any heart there in his palms, Victor would have dropped it and tried to pinch himself awake. But the organ was too pliant, too alive, and pulsing in time with the hard pulses in his neck. 

There was no two ways about it, the heart in his hands was his. 

“I was so careful.” 

Obviously not careful enough. 

The young leader swallowed and cradled the heart to his chest gingerly. His night shirt became damp and sticky with blood. The same blood pooled into his cupped hands, dribbled down his forearms and to the backs of his wrists. From there, it dripped onto the cold stone floor in front of his toes. 

**plip, plip, plip.**

A strip of terror coiled around Victor’s spine making him dizzy and threatened to bring the proud young man to his knees.

 _I’m not ready. I don’t want to die._

His heart throbbed quicker in his palms, and it became harder to breathe around the palpitations. 

“Help me…” Victor rasped. 

The words slipped out of his mouth as his eyes travelled back to the pulsing organ. A faint light pulsed from within his heart as a sizzling and shrill popping static grew in volume. Victor’s legs gave way, and he fell into the blood on his knees. 

A bright pain seized his body as his heart tumbled from his hands. 

“No!” Victor cried out, reaching for his heart with the hand that wasn’t clutched into his bloody night shirt. 

The organ pulsed sharply. 

Once, twice and slowly Victor watched as the faint light was snuffed out inside the tissue. 

Slowly, the heart relaxed, and the beating stopped. Red strings that seemed to have come out of nowhere strained as the organ relaxed, and they snapped as they were exposed to the cold air with a hiss.

Dizzy, Victor chuckled at the sight as his hands dropped to his sides. The chuckle held a note of breathless desperation while more strings snapped from the edges of his heart. 

The organ crumpled and broke down. 

“If this is the way I’m going to go. At least it’ll come as a surprise.” 

_After all you’re all about surprises, aren’t you, Victor?_

The initial terror had faded into the back of his mind. His heart continued to disintegrate into a pool of blood before him. 

“Vitya!” The door at the opposite side of the Great Hall slammed open. 

_Oh. Someone must have heard me scream._

Victor forced himself to tip his head up and look in the direction of the door. Yakov, the man who had raised him, charged into the Great Hall flanked by a guard on either side of him, hands on their sword hilts. The man was dressed in thin night clothing, and behind him Lilia moved quietly, hair cascading down her back as she held a candle to guide them. 

“Yakov...Lilia...You came.” His voice sounded as if he were underwater and far away. 

Victor tried his best to smile as his guardian stumbled to a stop right outside the line of blood that had started its slow stretch outward from his heart. 

“Vitya…What is all this?” rasped Yakov, his face paling. Lilia held up a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide. The guards looked at each other and then back at him. 

Victor smiled grimly and held his bloody pointer finger over his lips, “Shhhh, you’ll wake everyone.” 

Then suddenly, everything went black. 

 

\------

“Yuuri, wake up!” Minako pounded on the large oak door barring her entry to her former pupil. Her voice was slightly muffled through the thick door as Yuuri tugged and laced one of his boots, making short work of the other. 

“Yuuri!” The older magi called through the door. Yuuri tugged on his fingerless gloves and looked over his shoulder with a frown. 

With a wave of his hand, the lock on the door opened with a click. 

Almost instantly, the door was opened and hit the wall with a loud thud. Yuuri jumped as Minako crossed the threshold, stopping just in front of the door. She frowned, tapped her foot on the carpet, and placed her hands on her hips. “You overslept.” 

“Not on purpose.” Yuuri pulled his black robe over his standard issued uniform. 

_It was totally on purpose._

Tugging off his glasses, Yuuri breathed on the lenses and then used the hem of his cloak to clean them. Minako rolled her eyes and smiled as she grabbed him by the crux of his arm. 

“Minako! Wait!” Yuuri stumbled after her as she waved her free hand over her shoulder after they were clear of the door and up the stairs a ways. Yuuri heard his door slam shut behind them and the sound of the lock as he was tugged up the staircase. 

He barely had time to shove his glasses back onto his face. 

“You want more time before an important travelling ceremony? Wake up on time.” Minako groused as she released him and continued up the stairs. 

The tower was just as it sounded. A tower. The steps lead to different rooms and hallways on different levels. Yuuri was lucky enough to have his own room outside the dorm halls right on the staircase which made it easier for him to access the larger practices rooms and ritual rooms. 

As they moved up the stairs, Sara, a new magi moved out of the door hall and waved to them as she passed, “Good morning, Yuuri!” 

Yuuri felt his cheeks flush as he raised his own hand in greeting, “Morning, Sara.” 

Pausing on the stairs, Sara turned to watch them ascend. “I heard from Minako and from several others you are going on a journey. Mickey and I will miss seeing you around.” 

Yuuri rolled his eyes with a wry smile, “I think Michele will be just fine with me leaving for a bit.” Sara smiled and tossed her head back with a laugh. 

“ _Yuuri_ , we have to hurry.” Minako ordered, pausing mid-stride to wait for him. 

With another wave to the other woman, Yuuri started up the steps towards the largest ritual room in the tower. 

“Thankfully this ritual doesn’t take too much preparation or time. If it did we’d be extremely late!” Minako muttered as she turned to look out one of the stone cut windows to her left. The tower was large, and most of the magi were able to their magic to create their own light, so windows were far and few in between. 

Despite Minako’s grumbling about being late, the sun was barely peeking over the furthest mountains to the west of the tower. The air inside the tower was lukewarm and made Yuuri glad for his journey clothes being made of cotton instead of the fine silks they normally wore inside. 

“When we get up there, you will do the entire ceremony alone.” Minako informed him with a wink as she climbed the stairs beside him, her hand trailing over the railing on the other side of her. 

Yuri took in a sharp breath, “Are you sure? I don’t think we have the time to do it if you want to get going quickly.” 

Minako tossed her long hair over her shoulder as the reached their intended goal. At the top was a golden door that Yuuri had made a point to avoid. In fact, he never climbed up the stairs to any of the ritual rooms. 

_That’s probably why she is going to make me do it. She wants to make sure I still can._

Reaching out to the golden surface, Minako trailed her fingers over it. The gold rippled and melted away as she stepped through where the door had once been. Holding his breath, Yuuri trailed after her. As both moved into the room, the gold swelled back to the center and sealed shut behind him, giving no inkling that there was anything but a sturdy door of solid gold once more. 

“I haven’t done this in four years.” Yuuri protested, clasping his hands together and squeezing them. 

“That’s exactly why you are doing it.” Minako explained. 

“I’m past being a trainee. There isn’t any benefit in me doing this.” Yuuri all but whined as he turned to stare at the older magi. 

“It’ll help you regain some of your old confidence,” argued Minako. 

Yuuri took a deep grounding breath as he rubbed at his temples. 

_How am I supposed to regain confidence doing something I’ve seen dozens of times in my nightmares?_

The room was exactly as he remembered. 

It was large, far larger than any of the other ritual rooms. This was because it served a special purpose and was used only for guidance on journey locations and for prophecies that were handed down from the oldest magi’s that lived in the tower itself. 

The walls shimmered an array of colors as the sun began to rise outside, making the room that much brighter. While the rest of the tower remained cool and shaded, this room was no stranger to brightness and peace from the hustle and bustle of the towers residents. 

In the middle of the room stood a large silver chalice. 

Just the sight of it was enough to punch the breath from Yuuri’s lungs. Minako took a few steps back towards the wall nearest her, “You can do this. I’ll be right here the whole time.” 

Yuuri bit and worried his lower lip as he turned to look at his old teacher. Minako waved her hand in the direction of the only item in the middle of the room. “Go on. It won’t bite.” 

_You don’t know that_

Swallowing thickly, Yuuri forced his legs to move in the direction of the chalice and finally approach it. 

Everything in the tower felt as if it were alive, and the chalice was no exception. It hummed with an energy that made the hair on the back of Yuuri’s neck stand up. It sat on the floor, the rim coming up to just above Yuuri’s waistline. The rim was so wide that if Yuuri had tried to hug around it that he wouldn’t have been able to touch his hands together. 

Taking another breath, Yuuri raised his hand over the top of the chalice over the middle of the basin. An electric current tugged at his belly, travelled up his spine and out his outstretched arm. The tingling moved from the middle of his forearm to each finger tip, electrifying the air around Yuuri. 

A droplet of clear liquid raised from the surface of the silver inside the cup from nothing. Fanning his fingers out, Yuuri held his breath and narrowed his eyes on his fingertips. 

_Steady your hand, and calm your mind. You can do this. It’s the most basic of magic._

Droplet after droplet welled up and joined together in the bottom of the chalice. Slowly, they all mixed forming a pool of liquid that rapidly began to grow. After enough had gathered, Yuuri let out the breath he had been holding and dropped his hand to his side, fingers shaking. 

“See that wasn’t so ba-” 

Before Minako had finished her sentence, and he could turn away, Yuuri’s vision went white. 

As he tipped forward, Yuuri gripped the front of the chalice as he smelled sulfur, heard the shrill screams, the roar of the fire, and the cracking and groaning as a home succumbed to its damages and crumbled in on itself. The heat was close enough to race up his arms in a boiling sharp pain. 

In front of him, his familiar, a small brown poodle, laid prone on the ground in the ensuing chaos. 

“Vicchan!!” 

Then almost as instantly as the warmth and chaos engulfed Yuuri, it was replaced with the bite of snow against his hands and face and the sting of cold air racing around him and tussling his hair. The smell of pine trees was prevalent around him, and he found himself standing in a field covered in deep snow. 

In front of him, a large dark fortress loomed. On the battlements stood archers, their eyes and arrows turned on him. It was enough of a whiplash to send Yuuri down to the ground on his hands and knees as he gasped and slapped a hand over his mouth. 

His stomach churned, and his throat constricted as he gulped down mouthfuls of air. 

_Don’t get sick._

One moment he had been on his hands and knees near the chalice, and the next Minako had wrapped her arms under his armpits and pulled him back towards the edge of the room. 

“Can’t do this….” Yuuri rasped from between his shaking fingers. 

Minako rubbed her hand across his back, “You can.” 

Yuuri felt hot tears slide down his cheeks as he wheezed and turned his face away from his former teacher, “It’ll happen again. I lost Vicchan. I’ll lose something important again.” 

“He’s been gone for four years, Yuuri. He wouldn’t want you to stay inside forever.” Minako murmured as she squeezed Yuuri’s fist that was pressed hard against his chest. 

Taking a few breaths, Yuuri buried his face into the top of his forearm and shut his eyes tightly. Minako stood up and sighed, “You went through a lot, but you’re stronger for it.” 

Her voice sounded muffled as Yuuri took in deep breaths to calm his racing mind and heart. 

“That’s it. Now get up, Yuuri. We can’t stay here all day. We have to get breakfast and then grab our packs and leave.” 

“I saw where we will go.” Yuuri heard himself say, though it felt as if someone else was guiding the words out of his lips. 

Minako paused as she touched the gold. The surface shimmered and dropped away again. 

Yuuri rubbed the back of his hand over his lips as he steadied himself, “We’re going North East.” 

_Anything is better than the Southlands._

\-------

….Alive….Surviv...ken...never the same…

…

Miracle...no...magic…

…

…

Victor felt his consciousness slip in and out of his grasp as voices whispered just outside the grasp of his understanding. 

Slowly, he tried to open his eyes but was stopped as a large hand pressed over them. Reaching up to shake the hand off, his normally strong body felt as if he had been submerged in a vat of molasses. It became harder and harder to move the longer Victor tried. 

_What’s wrong with me?_

..st...you need…

...rest…

..ost died…

...el better…

 ** _Fall into a deep sleep, oh broken hearted prince._**

A deep commanding voice echoed around his head as a warmth engulfed Victor and once again soothed him back into a deep dark nothingness. 

\------

“It’s _so nice_ to be outside the tower for a change.” Minako spread her arms wide as they moved down the wooded path. Yuuri shook his head as he watched Minako move ahead and take in the sights and sounds.

Around them as far as the eyes could see, a sea of trees spread on either side of their intended path. The silence of the forest was punctuated by the whisper of the tree branches and the rustling of small animals as they fled away from them and into the underbrush. 

Yuuri took a deep breath of the cold, crisp air. The scent of pine was exactly how it had smelled in the vision. “It’s definitely different.” 

_Funny. I don’t remember my ritual having such vivid signs._

Before he could dwell too much on it, he ran right into Minako. She steadied him as she narrowed his eyes. Yuuri blinked. “Just different? You haven’t left that musty old tower in four years, and all you can find to say is that this is different?” 

Yuuri pressed his lips together in a thin line to keep from smiling at Minako’s outright indignation at his response. “Yes? There are definitely more trees.” 

Minako slapped his shoulder and huffed as she turned around. “This is a great change of pace for both of us! Staying in inns, eating different food, meeting new people...It’s wonderful!” 

Yuuri followed after her at a much more relaxed pace, “The magis at the tower don’t keep us hostage you know. If you wanted to go on a journey at any time I’m sure you could.” 

A branch cracked to their left, and Yuuri frowned and looked towards Minako. The woman narrowed her eyes into the dim light of the forest off the path. Yuuri shook his head, “We should hurry. It’s already mid-day, and we haven’t made it halfway through the forest.” 

“You’re right. We should continue moving.” Minako waited on Yuuri to catch up to her side. Yuuri reached up to touch the small quartz that hung from a cord around his neck. Immediately, his tense muscles relaxed. 

_No matter who or what that is, we can handle it. It’ll be fine._

“Whatever it is, it’s probably more scared of us than we are of it.” Minako hummed as she tucked her hands into the pockets on the robe. 

“Probably.” Yuuri agreed as they continued their easy pace through the woods. 

“We definitely want to pick up the pace, unless we want to go ahead and settle on sleeping in the woods.” Yuuri grimaced and shook his head. 

Minako laughed and shook her head as she pulled out her own crystal and rolled it between her middle finger and thumb. There was no telling how long she had her own crystal, but she had it long enough to wear it down into a larger than average circle. The color of the stone reminded him of a raspberry. 

“Yes, ma’am!” 

\-------

The sun had fallen well below the trees as Minako and Yuuri stepped free from the rapidly darkening forest. 

“Is this what you meant when you told me that the northeast was different?” Yuuri asked, squinting at the scenery before him. 

Minako paused, lifting her hand into the air above her head, both eyebrows raised. Snowflakes fell down from dark angry clouds above them. The ground was dusted with a light sheen of ice. 

“That’s strange. Normally, the area is more mild. This area normally has large fields of flowers; the fruit trees are in bloom; and they have the best wine in the region.” Minako’s frown grew as she brushed the snowflakes off the top of her head. 

It was going to be a losing battle. 

From behind them a lone wolf howled. Less than thirty seconds later, two other wolves answered. Yuuri pressed his hands on the backs of Minako’s shoulders. “We can worry about that later. For now, we should get to the town.” 

Even being a ways away, Yuuri could see the lights and smoke rising from the chimneys of the people from the nearest town in the valley below. 

The air rapidly cooled around them as they continued their slow advance towards the town. The moon rose into the sky, and Yuuri turned his face up to look at it. Taking a slow breath, he let his eyes take in the beautiful expanse of stars in the sky. “Beautiful…” 

“It’s even more so on a clear night. You can stare up at the stars, and it makes you feel so small.” Minako clasped her hands in front of her mouth blowing between them to keep them warm. 

Yuuri looked down at his own hands. While his fingerless gloves did nothing to really keep him warm, his palms and the backs of his hands were covered. The young magi looked at Minako. 

Catching his guilty smile, Minako reached out, wrapping her hands around his, “Don’t. We’re almost to the town, a little cold keeps me on my toes.”

“Maybe you can wear them until we are right outside of town?” Yuuri offered lamely as Minako rolled her eyes. 

“I’m fine. See? Look.” Minako held up both her hands. 

Yuuri squinted at them and could just make out a shimmering of energy that wrapped around her hands like gloves. 

“Wow, did you just come up with that?” 

Minako nodded with a smug grin, “I’ve been making my own spells for years.” 

Yuuri opened his mouth to retort when growling and howls filled the air from behind them. 

The grin fell from Minako’s face as she turned, grabbing the strap of her satchel. “We need to get going. Now.” 

Yuuri turned to look behind him, but Minako grabbed his wrist tugging him forward. “Yuuri! Come on! We have to go!” 

Yuuri turned back to flee with her until he heard someone scream in terror over the noise of the growls. Pausing mid-step, the young magi turned to finally survey the situation behind them. A pack of wolves stood paw deep in the gathering snow. There were five large wolves in total, and in between them was a man sitting on the ground, hand clutching the back of his calf. 

Yuuri tugged his wrist from Minako’s grasp and ran towards the pack of wolves. 

“For the love of- GET BACK HERE!” Minako yelled after him. 

He didn’t have time to think. 

Yuuri tugged the cord from around his neck with one hand; the other was pointed to the wolf he was closest to. Sliding to a stop, Yuuri pointed his pointer and middle fingers out at it. Thankfully the wolf was so engrossed in the downed traveler, it didn’t see him coming. 

_I’m not good at creating spells, but-_

“Elvni Mekilno Connax!” Electricity jumped from the hand clenched around his grounding quartz crystal to his outstretched hand. From there, the electricity arched out of his fingers and slammed into the wolf. 

The spell moved from the closest wolf to each of its companions. A shrill chorus of yelps and the stench of burning hair filled the air as the wolves abandoned their mark and retreated back towards the treeline. 

Yuuri clenched his palm shut and sank to his knees. 

“You just electrocuted five hungry wolves,” the stranger whispered awestruck. 

“I didn’t approve of their dinner choice.” Yuuri forced his hand to open and close a few times. The tip of his fingers still tingled, and his forearm was numb. 

“Are you okay?” Minako asked, looking down at him as she approached both me. Yuuri handed her the broken cord, and without being asked, Minako knotted the pieces back together.

“Thanks.” 

“We’ll talk about your recklessness later.” Moving to kneel by the other man, Minako spoke to him softly, her hands outstretched in front of her as if she was speaking to a frightened animal. 

Shaking his hand a few times, the feeling slowly started to come back in pin pricks that danced up and down his arm, making him squirm. “Yuuri.” 

Yuuri blinked and turned towards where Minako and the stranger were, “Yes?” 

“This man you saved is from the village below us. He said that we can stay with them before we continue our trip in the morning,” Minako called back to him. 

_Well, I guess that takes care of room and board for the night._

“I hate to ask this, but can I lean on you until we get to my home?” The young man stared up at Yuuri. 

Yuuri automatically extended his hand out to help him up, “Sure.” 

“I’ll take a better look at your leg when we reach your home. The spell I placed on the wound should keep you from bleeding out.” Minako stood back up, brushing the ice off her pants. 

“That’s good...ah-” 

Yuuri tugged the man up off the frozen ground, “Her name is Minako.” 

“Minako. Thank you for your help, Minako.” The man spoke gruffly but with genuine gratitude. 

Turning to Yuuri, the man sized him up and then squeezed his hand. If the other had wanted to, he could have easily broken his hand and now that he was up off the ground, Yuuri got a better look at him. He was thicker and more filled out with muscle than Yuuri, but his magic capability didn’t even cause Yuuri to blink. “And you are?” 

Yuuri cleared his throat and squeezed his hand before throwing it over his shoulder. “Yuuri. Yuuri Katsuki.” 

“I’m Takeshi Nishigori. It’s a good thing you two were so close.” Nishigori smiled as Yuuri situated his arm over his shoulder. 

Their pace became much slower as the snowfall picked up and Nishigori had to stop a few times to rest. The rest of the time he leaned completely on Yuuri as they stumbled down the path and into town. 

The street was empty and silent.

“Sorry, normally there would be more people out and about, but with the change in weather, it’s made most everyone in town nervous.” Takeshi winced as he leaned heavily against Yuuri’s shoulder. 

“See! I told you this wasn’t normal!” Minako clapped her hands together as she turned and smirked at Yuuri. He couldn’t help but roll his eyes at her childishness. 

The snow crunched under their boots as they made their way down the deserted streets. The only light they had was from the windows on either side of them, illuminating their path as they walked. 

“Take a left here,” Nishigori jerked his head in the direction he wanted Yuuri to steer him. After a few more steps down the alley, Takeshi motioned to a door. 

“That one.” 

Minako stepped forward and knocked. It took several moments before a young woman cracked the door open. “Hello?” 

“Yuuko…” Nishigori called softly. 

The young woman gasped and pushed the door open wide, “Takeshi? You’re hurt!” 

Moving out of the way, Minako moved inside and after her Yuuri guided Nishigori into the dim light of the cottage. 

“He’ll be fine.” Minako promised as she motioned for Yuuri to set Nishigori down in the nearest chair. 

“It would have been worse if Yuuri hadn’t stepped in and saved me.” Nishigori winced as he shifted to the side to keep his leg away from the chair leg. 

Minako tapped a finger to her lips, “We need more light. Yuuri close the door, it’s bad manners to keep it open. Also, I need bandages. In my satchel are the ingredients to make a medical poultice that we will need to put on the bite wound.” 

_I know better than to disobey her when she has that tone of voice._

Closing the door, Yuuri rummaged through her satchel to find the ingredients for the poultice she wanted. 

“Take off your pants.” Minako ordered. Yuuri’s fingers paused as he concealed a small smile. 

“What?” Nishigori’s voice was strangled and high pitched. Yuuri turned and saw Yuuko had her hand pressed over her mouth. 

“You heard me. Take. Off. Your. Pants. _Please._ ” Minako turned to look at Nishigori’s wife who moved towards the fire to stoke it for more light. 

Yuuri shook his head with a snort.

The rest of the evening was a blur. Between helping Minako and putting Nishigori to bed, the clock on the mantle above the fireplace chimed midnight. 

“Oh, is it that time already?” Minako yawned and brushed her fingers through her hair. The warmth from the fire wrapped around Yuuri making his eyes droop. 

I’ll go prepare the loft and-” Yuuko was interrupted by the growl of Yuuri’s stomach. Both women turned and stared at him. The warm haze Yuuri had sunk into was gone. 

Holding up his hands, Yuuri shook them nervously, “No, don’t mind me! I’m fine.” 

“I still have a bit of bread and soup.” Yuuko offered, tucking one of the strands of her hair behind her ears with a smile. 

“I’ll get some rest. Please don’t be up late, we don’t have the luxury of sleeping in.” Minako reminded him as she moved towards the ladder leading to the loft. 

Yuuko winked at Yuuri, “Let me set up the beds, and then I’ll warm up the soup.” 

With that, Yuuri found himself without any company. 

Finally alone, Yuuri was able to take in the small cottage more than he had been able to when they had been tending to Takeshi. It was very small, but charming in its own way. Even though the lower floor where he sat smelled musky due to the medicine, there was a woodsy spice underneath it all. 

There were few personal items around the room. But other than the clock on the mantle and a few knick knacks, there was nothing that expressly pointed to this being Yuuko and Takeshii’s home.

 _Is it their first home?_

By how young they looked, it probably was. That also meant they were most likely newlyweds. 

_What would have happened if we hadn’t saved him?_

Yuuri shook his head and bit his lower lip as he flexed his fingers. They hurt far less now than they had earlier when the numbness had been subsiding. His vision swam, and the edge of his view darkened and faded out. 

In front of him a woman knelt down, white skirt covered in thick sheets of mud. 

_This isn’t real._

Anguished cries erupted around them from people Yuuri couldn’t see or help. 

“Miss?” 

_Don’t. You know how this ends._

The woman heard him and tensed as she looked over her shoulder at him. Her brown hair was half in a braid. Bits and pieces, however, had been pulled out of the clean job she had obviously done before then. Her large brown eyes were trained on him, cold and wild. Her face was speckled with dirt and blood. 

“You…” she rasps. 

_Don’t think. You’ll only open your wounds wider._

“Let me help.” Yuuri took a step forward. 

“ **Stay away from me you _monster_**!” The young woman screamed. Her voice trembled as tears cut through the blood and dirt staining her face. 

Yuuri flinched and took a step back. 

_I was stupid to think I would make a difference._

“Yuuri?” 

Yuuko’s soft voice brought him back from his thoughts and back into the small cottage room with her. In front of him sat half a loaf of bread and a bowl of stew. It was so warm that steam wafted up from its surface towards the rafters above them. 

Yuuri smiled, “Thank you, Yuuko.” 

Sitting down in the chair on the opposite side of the table from him, Yuuko brushed off her skirt. “I haven’t gotten to say thank you to you yet, Yuuri.” 

Yuuri shook his head, “The food and a place to stay for the night is more than enough.” 

“No, it’s not, but it's all we have to offer.” Yuuko motioned to the spoon next to his bowl. Yuuri automatically picked it up and dug into the stew. 

The flavor was rich and drew its warmth down the back of his throat, settling in his belly. Yuuri smiled and quietly shoveled several spoonfuls down in succession. 

“I don’t know what I would have done if Takeshi never came back. I wouldn’t have been able to provide for us.” Yuuko put her hand on her small round stomach. 

Yuuri paused mid-bite, “You won’t have to.” 

“Thanks to you. Once this area used to be less dangerous, but the weather hasn’t changed, and the snow hasn’t really stopped.” Yuuko placed her arms on the table and rested her chin atop them. 

Yuuri grabbed the remaining part of the loaf of bread and tore it in half, “Minako did say that this area doesn’t see much of a winter or snow for that matter.” 

“It’s true. The wolves that attacked Takeshi normally wouldn’t even get near the village or humans, but-” 

“How long has it been snowing?” Yuuri asked quietly, frowning. 

Yuuko buried her nose against the top of her arm, “More than a month I think? The animals aren’t the only ones who are having trouble right now.” 

Yuuri took another bite of the bread dipped in stew juice, “Shouldn’t the lord of the region be helping?” 

“That’s the issue. There hasn’t been any contact with Lord Nikiforov. As you go North from here towards his castle, the snow and ice get worse. No one has been able to get there.” Yuuri nodded quietly as he leaned back in his chair. 

Smiling up at him, Yuuko sat back up. “I’m sure Lord Nikiforov wants to help. He’s the one person who always helps out and takes care of his region the best. He’s been here for our village when no one else would have been.” 

Biting the inside of his cheek, Yuuri nodded and placed his spoon in the empty bowl. 

Grabbing the bowl in front of him before he could move, Yuuko placed it with the others underneath the window. Looking out as the snow quietly fell, she placed a hand on her stomach and the other on her lower back. “It would be nice if this little one was born when all the flowers were in bloom.” 

“We should both rest. Do you need any help with anything?” Yuuri asked quietly. The meal and warmth made his body feel like he was carrying heavy sacks of grain. 

“Thanks, but I think we can both head to bed. You have an early day tomorrow.” Yuuko moved past him gently patting him on the shoulder as she strode towards the only bedroom on the first floor. 

Yuuri slowly climbed up the ladder and moved to the bed near Minako’s. 

“I thought you would be up here sooner.” Minako yawned and turned to watch Yuuri pull off his jacket, shirt and boots before climbing into the nest of blankets Yuuko had left for him. 

“Sorry, I was talking to Yuuko,” Yuuri mumbled as he rubbed his cheek against the soft fur blanket. 

“From the sound of the talk, and the way you actually came to bed, it makes me think you have a direction in mind for our journey.” Minako propped herself up on one arm to stare at her former pupil. 

Yuuri nodded and sighed as his eyes focused on the dim ceiling above them, his arms tucked under his head, “We are going to go request aid from Lord Nikiforov. No one in the village has had contact with him since the snow began.” 

“Sounds easy enough.” Minako yawned again and turned her back to him. 

“We’ll see.” Yuuri forced himself to close his eyes. 

\------

The morning came too quickly. 

At least the pull of tiredness in Yuuri’s body told him so. Minako shifted around the loft packing their clothing, taking her time to make sure that they are both sufficiently packed before she sat on the edge of the bedding shaking Yuuri’s shoulder gently. “It’s time for us to go.” 

Yuuri forced his eyes open and sat up. His body felt stiff and uncooperative as he wrapped his arms around his body squirming, the urge to lay back down was beaten only by the smell of eggs and some sort of meat cooking. 

Minako rollsed her eyes as his stomach growled, “Of course you would wake up to the smell of breakfast. Hurry up and there may even be time to eat.” 

Wiggling to the edge of his blankets, Yuuri slowly stretches his body out and looks to the clothing laid out at the end of the bed. Adjusting his frames on his face, he stares at them hard and then looks back at Minako. “When did you pack these?” 

The clothing looked almost identical to their traveling clothing the previous day. The black pants and the brown tunic were customary traveling clothes that were more comfortable and practical than they looked. However, the lighter jacket had been swapped out for a thicker jacket, and the boots they had worn were also swapped out for a pair of thicker boots. 

_She must have talked to Yuuko and figured this all out herself earlier._

His mentor tapped her pointer finger to her lower lip with a small secretive smile, “I had a feeling we’d need them at some point. It’s easy for someone with my skill set to pack more than what appears here.” 

“Oh. Okay.” Yuuri had given up long since really trying to figure the older woman out. It was just easier to let her guide him most of the time. 

“Yuuri! Minako! The food is ready.” Yuuko called up to them. 

Minako waved her hands towards the clothing, “Get dressed. I’ll meet you downstairs. When you come bring our packs.” 

“Roger,” Yuuri murmured as he turned his back to her and tugged the shirt from yesterday over his head. Making quick work of getting dressed, Yuuri buckled the belt around his hips and laced up the boots. 

In the shelter of the home, the warmth of the clothing was just a bit uncomfortable. 

_I’ll be grateful for the layers later._

Exchanging his fingerless gloves for real leather gloves, Yuuri grabbed both packs and descended the ladder, the two women chattering happily. At the bottom of the ladder, Yuuri placed the packs beside it and moved into the small dining area. 

Yuuko and Minako sat at the table, chatting amiably, and Takeshi sat with his leg propped up on the fourth chair. Yuuko looked up and smiled to him, and Yuuri felt a blush rush up his face. “Good Morning.” 

“Good Morning, Yuuri.” Yuuko greeted gently. 

Takeshi brightened as soon as he saw the other, “There you are. I was hoping I’d get to thank you properly.” 

“We don’t need any thanks, we received shelter, and that’s all we require.” Yuuri moved, standing at the edge of the table. There wasn’t a chair for him, but he also wasn’t the type to make an injured man move. 

Takeshi shifted and gingerly moved his leg off the chair. “Here. Sit down.” 

Yuuri held up his hands, “No, no, it’s fine. Rest your leg. It’s probably better for it to be on the chair than on the floor.” 

Minako grinned, “So considerate, Yuuri. I raised you well.” 

Yuuri shook his head with a small smile as he leaned down and helped Takeshi place his leg back on the chair to keep it somewhat elevated. Yuuko stood up and moved to grab a plate for Yuuri. “Here, you can have my seat to eat at the very least.” 

“Thank you.” Yuuri murmured sitting down as he looked at the plate. There was a little bacon, a half piece of bread, and last a fairly generous portion of eggs. Without hesitation, he dug in once more. 

Minako ate at a more controlled pace while Takeshi and Yuuko watched over them. 

Both mages finished their food, and then Minako helped clear the table as Takeshi folded his arms over his chest, “Have you been further north?” 

Yuuri shook his head and stood up, placing the chair against the table, “No, but that is exactly where we are headed.” 

Yuuko frowned, “Like I explained to Yuuri and Minako last night, no one has been able to go past a certain point. Everyone that has tried either hasn’t come back, or they were forced to turn around.” 

“Do you know what class mage they were?” Minako asked as she grabbed her pack and Yuuri grabbed his own. 

“They were barely Rosalines.” Yuuko bit her lower lip. 

“Oh. That’s a shame. Survival training isn’t something that Rosalines are taught or can do with just the magic in their bodies. It will be difficult, but Yuuri and I with our combined levels will be fine.” Minako soothed. 

“They will be just fine. You should have seen what Yuuri did to scare off those wolves. I was very surprised myself to be honest.” Takeshi agreed as he twisted his torso to look back at Yuuko. 

She smiled hesitantly, “I would hate to send you off not letting you know what you are getting into.” 

Yuuri bit the inside of his cheek as he adjusted the straps and turned to look at her with a small smile, “It’s okay. We are going to have to pass back through here on our way back to the tower. We will check in with you and let you know we are okay.” 

Yuuko nodded slowly, resting her hand on her round stomach. “Hopefully whatever happens you will get to come back and see this little one here.” 

Minako smiled as she nudged her shoulder against Yuuri’s, “We definitely will. Though we only slept here for the night, you were so welcoming that it made it feel like a second home.” 

With that gentle push, Yuuri moved towards the door pulling it open. Immediately, the cold air whipped around him and chilled him to the bone. Giving one last glance to the couple, he smiled, “Take care of yourselves.” 

Takeshi waved and Yuuko stepped behind him, laying her hand on the larger man’s shoulders. “We should be telling you that.” 

“You have.” Minako assured her as they stepped out of the easy warmth and into the snow filled outside world. 

Looking at the blanket of snow around them, Yuuri frowned and turned toward Minako. “This snow…” 

Minako held out her gloved hand, “I know. It’s not normal.” 

“This is why we need to go there. Something might be really wrong.” Yuuri murmured pushing his glasses up his nose as he turned and moved through the empty silent streets. 

“With the weather like this, this town is going to have problems the longer this goes on.” Minako agreed. 

“So how long is the trek to the main fortress in the area?” Yuuri asked as they crunched their way through the snow slowly. 

“Normally, it would take three days, but with the snow this deep, we will have to push through. We can’t stay outside with the animals all being desperate and hungry. Maybe it will take outside a week or so? If we’re lucky, and the snow doesn’t become impassable.” Minako bit the thumb of her glove as they moved quietly. 

“A week. Can this all really wait a week?” Yuuri shook his head slowly and gripped the strap of his pack. 

“It may not have a choice.” Minako softly replied as she looked up at the dark grey clouds overhead. 

\----

Yakov sighed looking past his clasped hands at Yuri. The teenager sat on the edge of his desk, arms crossed over his chest with a scowl on his face. “No.” 

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Yakov leaned back against the back of his chair. “You have a duty to the people.” 

“No, _Victor_ has a duty to his people. He’s the one who has looked after them for years, not me.” Yuri scoffed turning his back to the elder council member. 

Yakov felt the telltale throb at the base of his skull, warning of an oncoming headache, “Victor can’t-” 

Yuri’s head whipped around as the air became electric around him. “He will! He just needs time!” 

“Yura, we both know he won’t be able to fully recover. He may never be able to do what he once did.” Yuri narrowed his eyes at the old leader of the council. Yakov looked back, unimpressed at the other lashing out with his magic. 

Yuri opened and closed his mouth a few times as he glowered at the other and slammed his hand down on his desk, “He’s just a few rooms down the hall. He is the ruler of these lands!” 

“The sooner you look at this paperwork, the sooner I can attend to other things that are more pressing. If you want Victor to get better maybe you should do as I say for now so Victor can relax.” Yakov slid the itinerary to Yuri who turned it towards him with a hiss of sliding paper on the desk. 

“Sword practice, magic practice, language practice, petition hearings, lunch, council meetings, blah blah blah blah. This schedule is ridiculous.” Yuri crumpled the schedule underneath his flexing fingers. 

“You forget your own history and language lessons, riding lessons, and going on tours of the lands and the cities. Although, those will be long time coming as the snow is making it near impossible for people to leave by usual means.” Yakov continued with a grimace as he rubbed at the back of his neck. 

“No wonder Victor almost died. You guys were going to kill him with this schedule alone.” Yuri all but snarled at the older man. 

“Victor did this and more, and never once complained. Vitya may be royalty, but so are you.” Yakov raised his voice, and Yuri grimaced as he shoved the schedule at him. 

“If I am going to do this, then you’ll fix this pile of shit and make it an honest schedule. The same goes for Victor when he comes back, or I will disappear so fast you will have no one to sit on that throne,” hissed Yuri. 

“Fair enough.” Yakov grabbed a quill and flicked it as a piece of paper on the desk that had once been blank filledup with a well written schedule. 

Yuri leaned over the desk and pointed at petition hearings, “Move that to three times a week, every other day will work, and lengthen the time on those days to make up for it.” 

Yakov stared at the paper and then chanced a look up at the other, “I know this is not what you wanted, but you will do well. We will make sure you have every conceivable advantage.” 

Yuri didn’t look up at Yakov as he kept his eye on the schedule they were working on, “Why didn’t you do that for Victor.” 

“We both know the answer to that. Vitya was even more stubborn than you.” Yakov shook his head as he continued to jot down a schedule with the flick of his pointer finger as the pen scrawled across the paper. 

The blond had opened his mouth to make another correction when a loud cacophony of voices rang down the hall. Yuri raised an eyebrow and dislodged himself from his perch on the desk. Yakov narrowed his eyes as the other moved towards the door, tossing it open. 

“What’s all the commotion all of the sudden? Someone better be on fire!” Yuri yelled out into the hallway as a group of guards sprinted up and down the hall in different directions. 

When no one stopped, one unlucky guard found himself hauled close to the blond. “Did you not hear me? What the hell is all this racket?” 

Yakov moved slowly towards the door with a frown, “Yuri, let him go.” 

Yuri rolled his eyes and loosened his hold on the young guard. The young man stood up straight and squirmed under their combined scrutiny. “A young handmaiden just informed us that Victor was not in his room. She had gone to attend him, and he was just gone.” 

Both Yakov and Yuri paled looking at each other and then back towards the young guard. Yakov turned and moved down the hall swiftly with the guard, “You better locate him. He couldn’t have gone far!” 

Yuri turned and moved down the hall in the opposite direction, heart in his throat. 

_What if he gets outside?! He could wander into the snow and get lost!_

Moving just a bit faster, not that he would admit to it. Taking a turn towards the guard resting room, Yuri shoved open the door as he looked towards the three guards who were grabbing their swords. 

“Phichit, Guang Hong Ji, and Leo. You’re with me. Let’s find my idiot older brother.” Yuri brusquely ordered. All three moved quickly, Phichit first and the other two following close behind. 

“Where has been searched so far?” Yuri demanded as he moved towards the stairs to go to the second floor of the castle.

“There are people looking on the grounds and the surrounding woods.” Phichit responded with a frown as they moved up the stairs, the sound of their boots echoing off the cold stone. Yuri hummed and continued to ascend the stairs. 

“Has anyone tried to look from the top of the tower and see if they can see him?” Yuri growled as he continued to take the steps two at a time, Phichit and the others keeping pace with him the whole way. 

The cold and wind whipped through the open windows as they climbed higher and higher until the stairs opened up to the battlements, and Yuri stepped out carefully onto the ice and snow covered stone path. 

“Be careful, Yuri! The ice under foot could have you fall into the courtyard below or outside the castle entirely.” Phichit warned as he edged himself on the slick battlements. 

Yuri didn’t even have to move completely onto it as he stared at the figure directly in the middle. 

Victor stood, eyes half-lidded, hands outstretched towards the sky as snowflakes fluttered around him. His long silver hair whipped around his face in the cold wind making him look like an otherworldly creature. 

But this wasn’t a fairy or a magical nymph. This was his older brother. His older _sick_ brother. 

“You have got to be fucking kidding me.” Yuri spat out as he took a step forward, and Phichit grabbed his arm. 

Yuri turned snarling. Phichit jerked his chin on the other side of the battlement, “Look.” 

On the other side and already halfway towards Victor was Yakov. The old man’s brow was furrowed and face a dark red. He was scowling, and he reached out grabbing a hold of Victor’s arm, jerking him against his chest. 

Their leader stumbled into him but didn’t fight at all. Yuri could hear Yakov’s voice over the wind that whipped around them; he sounded livid. Victor gave no reaction as he was ushered back into the safety of the stairs. Yuri felt the tension around his heart squeeze a little less. 

Instead of the righteous anger that he had been riding moments before, now he just felt tired.

“Let’s get you back inside. Being outside for any time period is dangerous even properly covered.” Phichit murmured as he nodded to Leon and Guang Hong. The younger guards quietly put their arms around Yuri and ushered him back down towards the first floor. 

\-----

With the excitement of the morning done with, Yuri and Yakov were called into a special council session. Sitting at the head of the table next to Yakov, Yuri clenched his jaw and glared at the middle of the table. 

_I didn’t even get to check on that idiot. Are they taking care of him?_

Even though the people in the castle seemed kind since Victor had fallen ill, Yuri had found himself watching over the other. Too often tales came from other provinces of their injured leaders being found dead. 

Like hell anyone would kill Victor, but still, they had let him get into that situation either way. Victor’s heart was impossibly wide, and he loved everyone he met. That made him a good leader, but giving them too much had been his downfall. 

_I swear if I end up leading these idiots, I will not be as kind._

He couldn’t. He would protect Victor even if this hadn’t been what he thought he would be doing for the rest of his life. The realization of the weight now on his shoulders made him itch to throw something, raise his voice, and lash out. 

But he did none of those things. Instead, he listened to the banter around the table. 

An older bald councilman, who Yuri had never really bothered to remember his name sniffed at the edge of the table indignant, “I think we all should address the elephant in the room.” 

Another man with long black hair sighed, turning the page in his tome not even bothering to look up, “Here we go. What lunacy do you have for us this time?” 

Yuri felt himself commensurate with the scholar. 

Baldy sat up straight, tucking his arms into the sleeves of his robes as he ignored the other man, “Yakov. Victor is more of a liability in the state he is in. We had to rouse the guards in the entire palace because he escaped his rooms.” 

Yuri felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up at the mention of Victor, his fingers gripping at the edge of the table. 

Yakov frowned and placed a hand on Yuri’s shoulder, squeezing lightly. It was a movement Yuri was well aware of. 

_Don’t. Stop before you act._

Bristling, Yuri levelled a glare that the bald man tried to ignore. Clearing his throat he pressed, “I think for his sake and our peace of mind we should make sure that he is locked up somewhere he cannot endanger himself.” 

Another man with spiky red hair and glasses spoke up a frown on his face, “I second the idea. The last thing this province needs after the unrest the unrelenting weather has caused is the unconventional death of their beloved Victor Nikiforov.” 

Yuri slammed his hand down onto the desk, “Yeah, he escaped, but so what? Locking him up some place and leaving him to rot sounds like the shittiest idea I’ve heard.” 

“What would you have us do, your majesty?” Seung Gil spoke from a few seats down from halfway between Yakov and Yuri, his hands lost in the sea of his mage robes. The other watched him quietly, face never changing expression. 

Christophe sighed and tapped his fingers on the desk, “Couldn’t we assign him a companion? Someone to sit with him at all times?” 

“Are you mad? The resources that would take from the estate-” The bald man squeaked as he avoided Yuri’s glare. 

“He did his job more than enough to be able to relax and mend in the peace of his own room. I am sure we could find someone who would stay with him,” Christophe argued. Yuri felt his anger dissipate as he nodded and looked towards Yakov. 

The other didn’t meet his eyes, his lips were pressed firmly in a line. “I think we should consider options.” 

Yuri felt the small sliver of hope he held dwindle down even further. “Yakov. You want to see him locked up.” 

Yakov turned to look at him, and Yuri bit the inside of his cheek. Hard. The old man looked tired, more than tired. The incident earlier looked to have shaved years off his life. “What would you have me say, Yura?” 

Yuri grimaced and looked at the light wood in front of him, “I’ll do it. I’ll be his companion.” 

“Out of the question,” the scholar murmured, flipping to a new page in his journal. 

“What Arthur says is correct. You have to be groomed to take over in Victor’s stead. You will not have time for visiting, let alone even concerning yourself with Victor.” Yuri stood up and shook his head emphatically. 

“No. I am not going to do this just so you can throw him away! All of you can throw yourselves off the top of the battlements for all I care!” Yuri spat as he shoved his chair back so hard the chair hit the floor with a clatter. 

“Yuri Plisetsky!” Yakov roared as Yuri moved away from the council. 

“I’ll be with Victor. None of you better come close to him, or you’ll be sorry. Come up with a better way, or I refuse to do anything you want me to.” Shoving the heavy oak doors open, Yuri didn’t look back, not even as the chamber filled with arguing as he left. 

_Damn them all the hell._

Yuri stormed down the hall and into the room with his brother. Victor had been tended to by the physician and his hands and feet had been frost bitten. Seung Gil had been called in to assist with the treatments, so there was little evidence besides the bandages on his hands and feet. 

“Victor!” Yuri growled as he stalked towards the bed, shoulders high and body tense. 

The other man turned to look at him. For a split second, Yuri thought the other would actually answer, but instead those beautiful eyes were glazed over, cold and dull. 

Helplessness and frustration welled up inside him. 

Tossing himself onto the large bed, he reached out grabbing the white cotton of the shift that Victor wore. The older man tottered and leaned towards him as Yuri brought his face close to his and shook him slightly. 

“Wake the fuck up you idiot. Wake _up_!” 

No answer. 

Just as Yuri had expected. His fingers tightened into the shirt so hard Yuri shook. 

“Come back to us. Do you know what they are going to do to you? They are going to lock you up, and you will rot away if they do. Snap out of this. The Victor I knew was much stronger than this!” Yuri shook him, and Victor swayed, but there was no response. 

“Why the hell did you go up there anyway?! If you hadn’t, they wouldn’t even be trying to lock you up. What the hell were you thinking?” Yuri felt his throat close up as he pressed his head against Victor’s chest, fingers loosening. 

“Why did you have to do any of this? Why didn’t you ask for help? I thought things would be so different for us. You were going to be a bad ass ruler, and I was going to support you. Now I’m having to do what you were going to do just to make sure you are safe.” Gritting his teeth as hot tears trailed down his chest. 

No answer. 

Since the other had ended up in this magically induced stupor, had he ever really thought the other would be the same? 

Yuri shoved himself away from his older brother, rubbing at his cheeks with the back of his wrists, “Fuck you too then! I hope they do lock you up!” 

_You don’t mean that._

With one last look at Victor’s face, Yuri wiggled off the bed and exited the room slamming the door shut behind him. Victor sat in the middle of the bed, the silence wrapping around him as he leaned back into the pillows behind him. His bandaged hand reached up to the cold patch where Yuri’s tears had soaked into his shirt. 

Licking his his lower lip, Victor’s lips worked open and shut for a few seconds before he sighed out softly, “I’m so cold. It’s so lonely here.” 

\----

Minako had been right. As with most things, Yuuri’s mentor had pegged the time they were to arrive to within hours. 

“Are you ready to meet the man you’ve heard so much about since we started our journey here?” Minako asked as they moved through the snow. 

The trip to get there had been pretty easy. They had stopped in a different village and had earned their keep somewhere each night. The further north they moved, the easier it was to earn a bit of food or a place to stay. With the unusual weather had come injuries, fevers, and extra work to be done. 

As they had shared their destination, almost everyone had something to say about their provincial lord Victor Nikiforov. 

“He once played tag with a bunch of kids when he should have been in a meeting with the town mayor. He is so full of life and always smiles.” One young woman had told them with a laugh in the city of Triot. 

“I needed help with my father’s shop, and the supplies were hard to come by. He personally came and visited me. He also came down when we had a bandit problem with a bunch of his guards and cleared out the bandits. It’s been easier for the villagers here to live relatively free of worry about their crops being stolen by bandits.” A young blond haired woman, with bright green eyes had gushed in Artoria. 

The stories continued to come from the others, and everyone had nothing but positive things to say. With each story Yuuri knew that this was something that he just couldn’t ignore. 

So now they pressed through the deep unnatural snow towards the fortress where Lord Victor lived. 

“I’ve only been to the Iron Fortress once, but it was a great trip. My mentor brought me here when I was doing my first task.” Minako reminisced as she motioned to the fortress looming in the distance. 

Yuuri blinked and tipped his head to the side, “It’s bigger than I thought it would be.” 

Minako chuckled and shook her head slowly, “All the ruling fortresses are like that. It's hardly the structure that matters but the people inside it.” 

“With things like they are, do you think they will just let us in?” Yuuri fretted as they slowed to a stop before the large gates of the fortress . 

“They should. If they don’t, I will ask to speak to Victor.” Minako murmured as she waved towards the men up at the top where the mechanism was for the doors to be opened. 

The men saw them and something was shouted out. Other people gathered at the tops of the battlements peering over at them. Yuuri shifted just a little closer to Minako who frowned, “Excuse me! Are you going to open up the gates? It’s going to be twilight soon.” 

All they received was three archers readying their bows. 

“I don’t think they are friendly as you remember,” whined Yuuri as he and his mentor both took a step back hands coming up in front of them. 

“Something is wrong.” Minako muttered under her breath. 

“Is this how you treat your friends? If it is I wouldn’t want to see how you treat your enemies!” Minako shouted up at the men. 

“I’m sorry, ma’am. But if you are not specifically called here, we cannot let you in. Please return to the closest town,” one of the men holding the bow and arrow on them called. 

Minako frowned and threw her hands wide. Yuuri grabbed her arm. “Minako-” 

“No. Yuuri. Don’t back down.” Minako told him as she glared up throw the snowflakes raining down on them. 

“My name is Minako Okukawa, and this is Yuuri Katsuki. We are from the Mage tower South East from here. We were sent by concerned villagers in the towns we have visited. As per our pact with the Iron Fortresses in all provinces on the continent you are required to give us aid.” Minako called out. 

“How do we know you are who you say?” another cheeky guard called out.

“I demand to speak with Victor Nikiforov,” Minako called out. 

There was a stunned silence from the guards and archers before there was movement. Yuuri blinked and looked at his teacher as she called out, “What is going on?” 

“It looks like everyone is a little antsy because of the snow.” Yuuri murmured as Minako lowered her arms. She turned looking at him, lips pursed as she nodded before turning her attention back to the guards and archers. 

After a few moments, an older man was led onto the battlements, and Minako brightened instantly. Holding her hand up she waved to him with a large grin, “Yakov Feltsman, It’s been years! I hope you are friendlier than those young ones you have up there with you!” 

Yakov blinked and leaned forward, “Minako, I apologize for the cold welcome. I will have them let you in, and we can discuss what has happened. Seeing a mage of your capabilities here there may be hope yet.” 

“Sounds good.” Minako called back. Yakov yelled something unintelligible to the people around him, and the archers lowered their weapons. The doors slowly opened enough for Yuuri and Minako to squeeze through before shutting once again. 

Once inside the courtyard, Yuuri blinked and his jaw nearly hit the ground.  
All around them the courtyard was empty, but in the embrace of snow was the telltale signs of a magnificent garden that spread out before them. “Wow.” 

“What a waste. The garden is the best part about this place in my opinion. But I guess even this place has fallen to the unnatural snow. I had thought that Victor was more than adept to shield this fortress.” Minako sighed as they slowly moved towards a few people who were moving towards them quickly with purpose. 

Yuuri silently hoped the approaching people were friendlier than they first appeared. 

\-----

“We are so sorry!” One of the guards spoke up before either Minako or Yuuri could as they all moved together towards the dwelling inside the large hold. His words instantly made Yuuri feel a little better. 

“The other guards don’t understand the need to keep their mouths shut sometimes.” Yuuri’s eyes drifted to another who looked as if he could be twelve.

 _These guards haven’t seen more than 16, maybe 17 winters._

“What makes you any different?” Minako asked, brow raised as she brushed her hair back behind her shoulder as they walked. 

The third spoke up softly, he was the one that looked the tallest, but Yuuri wouldn’t have asked him that. Unlike most guards who kept their hair short his hair was longer brushing past his ears in honey brown strands, “We were trained and work with Yuri.” 

Yuuri blinked his stride faltering, “Excuse me?” 

“Oh! That’s right your name is Yuuri. We have a Yuri here, too, he’s Victor’s younger half brother.” The first guard spoke up with a happy hum. 

“Oh. I see.” 

Yuuri turned his face to regard the leader of the trio. “Before you start giving us information about the people inside, could you at least tell us your names?” 

The dark haired guard turned and smiled throwing an arm around Yuuri’s shoulders, “I’m Phichit Chulanont. The smaller one is Guang Hong Ji-” 

“Hey!” Guang Hong called out, cheeks puffed up and eyes narrowed. Obviously he didn’t like to be referred to as the smallest, but it wasn’t a lie. 

“The quiet but gentle one is Leo De Iglesia!” Phichit motioned over towards Leo who gave a gentle smile and a small wave which Yuuri returned as they moved through the entryway. Several guards stationed at the doorway looked them over, but Phichit led both mages past them with a friendly wave.

They were led past a large open area down a small corridor and down a hallway. All talking and chatter had stopped as they moved towards a larger door in the middle of the hall. Two heavily armed guards stood in front of the doors, and when Phichit approached them, both men stared hard at him. 

“I’ve brought our guests to Yakov and Yuri, as requested. Please allow them entrance.” Phichit spoke up with a half smile on his lips. Both men turned to look at Minako and Yuuri and then back at Phichit. 

“Don’t blame us if Yuri yells at you.” Guang Hong sing songed behind them as he rocked from his heels up onto his toes several times. 

After a silent conversation, the men finally stepped aside and opened the doors. 

Phichit turned back to Yuuri and winked, “Later, when you’re done with all the formal stuff, you should come and find me. I think we could become fast friends, Yuuri.” 

Yuuri couldn’t help the smile spreading to his lips. The other’s friendliness and kindness had allayed any fears he had from the first greetings he had received. “Sure.” 

“All right! Another drinking buddy!” Phichit pumped his fist into the air and then turned back to Minako and Yuuri, gently nudging them past the threshold of the door. 

“Good luck!” He called as the guards shut the doors and cut the three young guards off from view. The bang of the doors made the world feel cut off behind them as Yuuri looked ahead to the men sitting in front of them. The hall was wide, which Yuuri had expected, but what he hadn’t expected was to see an older man and a younger blond at his side looking positively murderous. 

_That must be Victor’s younger brother...But, where is Victor?_

The other Yuri scoffed and motioned at them, “Are you going to come in, or are you waiting for an invitation?” 

Minako clenched her jaw and started to move forward to the others at the front of the hall. 

Before she could even get halfway, Yakov stood up and moved to greet her. Yuuri trailed behind a few steps as did Yuri behind Yakov as Yuri peered warily back at him. Both looked tired and heart weary. He had seen the same look on a few of the older mages after a friend or loved one had passed. 

Wait. 

_Did that mean Victor’s absence could be?_

Yuuri shook his head and looked over at Minako as she held out her hand. Yakov took it. “It has been too long, Minako. I hope you are well.” 

“We are doing very well at the tower these days. It has been years since we have had any formal contact, but as I was telling my protégé here, I have fond memories from when I visited the last time.” Minako shook his hand and dropped it after a second. 

Yakov chuckled and shook his head, “That must have been when I was at least in my late thirties. It’s been tens of years since.” 

Minako smiled, though it didn’t quite meet her eyes. “Yes I suppose it has been. I see you have a small protégé of your own.” 

Yakov nodded hesitantly, “Yes, his brother is absent right now, so Yura must take up the mantle in his place.” 

Yuuri felt his heart squeeze. 

_Victor’s not here?_

“You have large shoes to fill if the stories we heard about Victor are any indication.” Minako smiled icily. Yuuri winced. He knew just how it felt to get on the wrong side of his mentor.

The blond narrowed his eyes and then stepped up beside Yakov, “Watch your mouth woman.” 

Yakov’s hand landed sharply on the back of Yuri’s head cuffing him. It wasn’t enough to hurt, but even Yuuri could tell it was a warning. “Mind your manners. You are in the presence of two high ranking magi.” 

Yuuri felt his stomach flip. Whenever someone added him as a high ranking magi, he felt as if the floor was going to fall away around him piece by piece. Yuri turned towards him and narrowed his eyes, “What? This pig is a magi? Is this some sort of joke?!” 

Yuuri frowned and looked at Minako, “Pig?” 

He looked back at Yuri, and the other young man bared his teeth. “His level is not much higher than mine! I can feel it. If I can’t do anything for Victor, what makes you think either of them can?” 

Yakov’s face turned red, his tone nearly acidic, “Yuri Plisetsky.” 

“What? It’s true? You let them in and gave everyone hope, but neither one of them will have what it takes to help. Just admit it and shove them back out into the cold.” Yuri groused as he stood there, arms folded over his chest. 

Yakov turned to Minako, “I apologize for him, he’s had a tough couple of weeks. Victor is not well, so his duties fell to this one instead.” 

Yuuri turned to stare at the teenager. He had seen no more than maybe 15 winters at the most, and his personality was abrasive and angry. Part of him was curious, another annoyed, but the last felt bad for him. 

“Don’t look at me,” Yuri hissed. 

Yuuri averted his eyes, “Sorry.” 

“You can’t even apologize properly. Ugh! You’re useless.” Yuuri winced as his breathing became slightly labored and his vision swam. Minako grabbed his shoulder to steady him as he started to wobble. The words didn’t phase him as much as the others magic did. It felt volatile. 

“Yura! Show some manners!” Yakov turned and grabbed the other’s wrist. 

Yuri paled and glared at the older gentleman, and Yuuri watched as if it were on slow motion. The blond seized up and the air around him turned electric, and sparks started to pop and fizzle; the other tugged himself away from Yakov. “Don’t touch me!” 

Yakov held his hand up, and Yuri stumbled back, his face pale as the air crackled around him. 

“Yuuri!” Minako dropped her hand, and he took a deep breath. 

The other was an untrained magi. 

Minako turned to Yakov, “His level is too high for him to have not taken lessons. Don’t you have a magi in this court?!” 

Yuri took another step away from them as his eyes turned a bright gold, and he held his hands up before him. Arcs of electricity danced from fingertip to fingertip as they moved back and forth, arching out and scorching the stones. 

One landed dangerously near to Yakov who Minako tugged away just in time. 

“Stop it, Yura!” Yakov called out. 

Yuri turned and looked towards him, holding his arms out as the anger dissipated and in its place was a cold dread, “I-I can’t. It won’t stop!” 

“Yuuri, do something!” Minako snapped at him. That was all that Yuuri needed to ground himself as he took several quick steps towards the young man, and the other turned to flee. Before he could, Yuuri reached out grabbing his hand twining their fingers together. 

Yuri whipped around, golden eyes wide as he glared, “Let me go! You’ll electrocute yourself.” 

Yuuri gritted his teeth as the power flowed from the other’s hand into his own, his gloves sticking to the skin. The pressure almost locked him up, but he reached up and grabbed his crystal at his neck and shut his eyes refusing to let go of the other Yuri’s hand. 

“Konnax Ivana Nominate Ictus.” 

The result was almost instant. A jolt ran through his body and he pointed his hand up into the air. Bright light flashed once, twice, and a final time showering the room in sparks. Yuri’s eyes had gone from the righteous angry gold to a weary blue green. The younger man’s legs gave out as he collapsed onto the floor. 

Yuuri sank down to his knees and quietly sighed as he shivered and sat down beside the other. 

“Yuuri!” Minako slid up next to him on the floor. 

“I’m okay.” Yuuri assured her with a wince. Looking down at his hands, he frowned as the gloves were stuck onto his skin. 

“That doesn’t look okay.” Minako grabbed him by his wrists and examined them. 

“It’s really okay. They didn’t stick to the skin more than just maybe burn it a little. One of your healing salves will be enough.” Yuuri tried to pull his hands out of Yuri’s sight. They were probably a little worse than that, but the other didn’t need to know. 

Not when he knew what the guilt of losing control of your own magic was like. 

Minako sighed and looked towards Yuri who sat on the ground panting as she jabbed a finger at his chest, “You lose control too easy. With that much power you could kill someone. You need training on how to rein your magic in.” 

Yakov moved forward his eyes on the trio, “Yura.” 

The old man’s voice snapped something, Yuuri could tell the other came back to himself and then quickly scrambled to stand. He held up his hands and looked to Yuuri before he turned and bolted from the room. 

Yuuri watched his back as he left the room.

“The boy needs formal training, Yakov. If it had been anyone with me other than Yuuri, he would have ended up hurting them and himself.” Minako frowned and stood up. Slowly, she helped Yuuri stand and eased him off the floor. 

_Wow, this is harder than it looked without the use of my hands._

Yuuri grimaced as he tucked his hands close to his waist and looked from Minako to Yakov. Minako looked back towards Yuuri, “While we are here, I guess we could see if Yuri will be receptive to training. After all, we are bound to help those in need.” 

Yakov turned to look at Yuuri, and Yuuri squirmed under the man’s discerning gaze, “I think he may listen to you. We need your help, not just with Yuri, but with Vitya too.” 

Minako waved her hand, “If it is not life threatening, Yuuri needs his rest. I imagine he wants to get those gloves off and salve on his hands so they will not bother him while resting.” 

“Yes, of course. I will have him escorted to his room while you and I catch up for the evening.” Yakov bowed his head and clapped his hands. The knights inside the room moved quickly, and Yuuri was guided from the room. 

“I’ll find you later. Tend to yourself as best you can, and if you need me, call for me.” Minako ordered as she turned her back to him, and he was led out the door and back further down the hall and up the stairs. 

Thankful that his former mentor was so firm, Yuuri stepped into the room by himself. 

“Are you sure you do not want me to call for the physician?” The guard asked as he looked at the gloves and then back up to Yuuri’s face. 

“I am fine.” Yuuri assured him with a small smile as the guard shrugged, stepped outside of the door and shut it behind him. Sighing, Yuuri turned away from the large gilded white doors of his room and took in the sheer size and majesty of it all. 

Around him blue and white silver hung on the walls. The room reminded him of a day right after a storm when everything was still wet, and the way the clouds sat hung around making it shady and cool enough to enjoy a quiet stroll outside in the company of his familiar. 

That was his- no, had been his favorite time at the tower. 

_Don’t. Don’t think about it._

Vicchan. 

His first familiar, and last by choice. 

Yuuri thought of the small poodle as he slowly worked his way to getting the pack off his shoulders. It was tricky without exacerbating the wounds on his hands, but after a second, Yuuri was able to wriggle his arms out and place it on the velvet covers of the bed. 

Vicchan had done something that no one else had for him, and it was because of his sacrifice that Yuuri was even able to mourn his friend at all. His chest clenched as he took a deep breath and pressed his hip to the edge of the bed to ground himself. 

_Monster._

The voices hissed in the back of his mind. 

_Dangerous. Out of control._

With shaky hands, Yuuri stiffly flicked his fingers. The zippers and pack opened up and unfurled in front of him. Reaching inside, he was able to grab a pair of shears and slowly cut the gloves off his hands. 

First, the left. 

_We should have never asked you for help._

Then the right. 

_You were supposed to help us. You were supposed to take those bastards out! Not the town._

Yuuri let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding as the gloves fell away from his hands. Exposed to the cool air of the room, his hands started to throb. His palms were an angry red, and Yuuri shook his head slowly. “If that was the worst he did, then we should all be thankful.” 

Pushing the disparaging voices to the back of his mind, Yuuri concentrated on the herbs on his pack as he flicked his fingers again, and they levitated. 

He made quick work of mixing the salve and spread it onto his palms. The dull throb turned to an itch as the salve sank into the irritated skin. Grabbing bandages, he wound them first around his wrists, turning his hand palm down towards the floor. 

When he did, he paused mid-wrap to study the tattoos on the the back of his hand. 

The intricate black tattoos took up the entirety of the backs of his hands. The delicate script was something that could never be removed and would mark his hands until the end of his life. 

Yuuri grimaced and quickly started to wrap his hands , averting his eyes from the black and silver swirls and magic script. 

_It’s better not to think about it at all._

\-----

Yuuri kept to himself inside the room. 

_No matter how curious I am, I can’t just wander around with injured hands._

Minako hadn’t been exaggerating when she said he needed to rest and relax, and Yuuri had been happy when an attendant had been sent to his room with a large chunk of bread, cheese, and some type of meat. Most people might have been bothered by the quiet and solitary treatment, but Yuuri was thankful for it. 

He gobbled up the food and had opted to crawl onto the bed and curl up his arms up against his stomach. The tension that had been in his muscles released instantly, and Yuuri passed out into a dreamless doze. 

When the young magi woke, the room was dark around him. Sitting up, he removed his glasses and slowly wiggled away from the center of the bed where he had entrenched himself in pillows and covers. Hopping off the tall bed, Yuuri moved towards the desk and quietly slid his fingertips on the top of the cold surface. 

Yuuri could barely feel the coldness through the bandages on his fingers. After several careful swipes, Yuuri’s fingers hit the bottom of the lamp and he found the small key at the neck of it. Turning it halfway, a dim light ignited inside the glass illuminating the table and the small space around them. 

Replacing his glasses, Yuuri looked around the room and quietly moved towards the nearest wall light, turning them halfway and lighting up the entire room. 

“There.” Yuuri sighed as he looked around at the surroundings and then back down at his hands with a small frown. 

Flexing his fingers, he pressed them against his palms. There was still a slight twinge, but nothing like the dull searing heat that had taken up residence after he had taken off the gloves earlier and exposed the irritated flesh to the cold air. 

_Best to keep them on for now._

Moving towards the door, Yuuri opened it and poked his head outside into the hall. There was no one in the hallways, and the only sound he could hear was the fire crackling on the torches lining the halls. 

Yuuri leaned further outside the door and waited for a second to see if anyone moved through the hall, and when no one came, he stepped out and moved slowly in the opposite direction from where he had been escorted up. 

The tiles were cold on his feet, but instead of heading back into the room, Yuuri let his feet steer him further and further away from the safety and familiarity of his room. 

_There is something here that isn’t quite right._

Yuuri thought back to how tired Yuri and Yakov had seemed. He thought about the general demeanor and tension that echoed around everyone that lived here without anyone having to speak a word. 

“It really is strange.” Yuuri muttered under his breath as he continued his quiet movement down the hall steering himself down further and further. 

After several moments of silence, it was abruptly broken as Phichit and Leo appeared at the far end of the hall, both chatting softly as they moved closer and closer to Yuuri. The magi stopped and held his breath as Phichit stopped mid-sentence and turned, staring at Yuuri. Recognition flashed on his face and he raised his hand, “Yuuri! We were just talking about you.” 

The guard moved forward and his partner quickly beside him. Phichit reached out grabbing his wrists, and Yuuri let him as Phichit winced and hissed at the sight of his bandaged hands. “Owww. That looks painful.” 

Yuuri shook his head and smiled down at the hands around his wrists, “It’s not that bad. There is hardly in pain anymore. The healing salve I used has really helped.” 

Phichit gently removed his hands and instead contented himself with wrapping an arm back around his shoulder, “I heard you knocked Yuri on his ass and kept his magic in check. You are the most interesting person in this place yet!” 

Yuuri’s stomach churned when he thought of the fear he had seen on the young blond's face. “I just wanted to help him and make sure he was okay.” 

Phichit smiled and gently shook him. “Well, word has it that you and Minako will be staying for a few days to help us all out. I’m so excited that we will get to know each other better. You’re very kind after all.” 

“We need that kindness more than ever.” Leo agreed as he smiled at Yuuri. 

The magi couldn’t help but feel his cheeks heat up at the praise from the guards. Phichit blinked and then motioned to the hallway, “So is there anything you need? You are a long ways away from your room.” 

“Oh. I wanted to explore since I wasn’t able to earlier.” Yuuri explained as he clasped his bandaged hands together gently. Phichit and Leo exchanged looks and then looked back at him with twin smiles. 

“Why don’t you come with us and play a game of cards? We were just doing one last round before retiring to the guard quarters for the night.” Phichit suggested. 

Yuuri smiled and shook his head, “I couldn’t impose.” 

“But Yuuri!” Phichit shook him gently again as he wrapped one of his arms around the crux of Yuuri’s elbow. Leo chuckled and shook his head as he rested his back against the stone wall nearest them waiting. 

“How about this? I’ll wander around tonight and get my bearings, and tomorrow night I will come play cards if you all play.” Yuuri bit back a smile as Phichit deflated for a split second before cheering up quickly. 

“Okay. But you _have_ to tomorrow. No backing out. Don’t wander out too long, there are creepy things that happen in the halls at night!” Phichit warned as he nodded to Leo and both men started back on their way. 

Yuuri watched them move down the hall and out of earshot before he continued his careful exploration around the floor he was on. Not soon after he was met with a staircase leading up to another level. 

_Should I keep going?_

Yuuri paused at the bottom of the stairs, gauged his fatigue and pushed on. 

The stairs started up and wound around until they opened up onto another level. Yuuri peeked out of the stairway and then stepped out. There were no guards again, so Yuuri felt comfortable continuing his slow exploration as he moved down the hall. 

The hallway was sparsely lit and made the hair on the back of Yuuri’s neck stand on end. 

He stared down the dim hall and immediately felt a shiver down his spine. 

_Don’t. Leave. Go back to your room. Danger._

Never one to ignore his instincts, Yuuri made an abrupt turn and moved down the stairs quicker than he had come up them. As he had turned, a wisp of something moved past him spurring him on and back into his room. 

The feeling didn’t disappear until he had shut the door behind him and leaned up against the door. 

Catching his breath, his pulse pounded in his ears as he leaned over, “What was _that_?” 

\---- 

The rest of the night went without incident once Yuuri had locked himself back in his room. He had taken the time to re-salve his hands and bandage them once more. After that he had once again taken up residence on the bed and fell into a fitful sleep. 

It wasn’t until Minako started pounding on his door that Yuuri stirred. 

“Yuuri! Wake up. You will be late for breakfast!” Minako called through the door. 

Sitting up, Yuuri yawned and stretched his arms over his head. Before he could move, he heard the distinct click of the lock disengaging, and the door swung open on its own accord. Minako moved inside and smiled slightly, “Oh, you were up?” 

“No thanks to you.” Yuuri mumbled under his breath with a half glare thrown her way. If she noticed, Minako didn’t acknowledge it as she approached the side of the bed, hands stretched out as she nodded once. 

Yuuri rolled his eyes and offered his bandaged hands to her. 

“Let’s see how these are looking today.” With that, Minako quietly unwound the bandages lying them on the crushed blue velvet covers on the bed. Yuuri sat patiently as she checked over his palms. 

There was no pain, and the redness was almost gone. 

“Well, if there was one thing you learned well, it was that particular burn salve.” Minako nodded and dropped his hands, satisfied with the progress. 

Yuuri huffed and shook his head slightly with a smile, “Only because I had to get used to using it all the time when I was Yuri’s age.” 

“So you noticed. Both of you have a similar magic strain. It would be good if he would take some advice and practice with you.” Minako sighed as she moved around the room, rummaging through Yuuri’s pack for him. Turning back, she offered him his fingerless gloves, and Yuuri accepted them without complaint. 

Tugging them on, Yuuri turned to grab his brown shirt, tugging it onto his torso, his back to Minako as he dressed. His mentor paid no mind as she set up his herbs and a few text books on the dark study table. “I took the liberty of bringing some new things for you to read. Just because you’re at a higher level of magic, doesn’t mean you can’t brush up and study.” 

“Thank you.” Yuuri tugged his pants up over his hips and snapped the black belt back into place. 

Turning towards Minako, Yuuri noticed her flipping through the pages of one of his study books. “Find anything interesting?” 

Minako stood up and shook her head, tapping her finger down the worn page with Yuuri’s own writing. “I think we should probably be a little cautious while we are here. Something doesn’t feel quite right.” 

_I knew it._

“Do you think someone here is doing something they shouldn’t?” Yuuri asked quietly. 

Minako sighed and shrugged her shoulders, “I feel something in the air besides little Yuri’s wayward magic. I think someone is using Lord Victor’s unrest to do something behind the scenes.” 

“I should probably set a magic lock on my room.” Yuuri decided as he motioned to the door. 

“That goes without saying. It would be bad for a low level mage to try and copy something they found in your personal spell collection. I will help you set the catalyst, and you will do the lock.” Minako agreed. 

Slipping the crystal from around his neck, Yuuri silently worked his hand in a slow pattern. Minako smiled as she produced her crystal and both started to shine as Yuuri whispered the lock pattern under his breath. Strange characters appeared within the circle he had drawn, dancing around inside of it as a sphere of light burst forth and slowly moved towards the door. The light went from a brilliant gold to a fine silvery font as the magic melted into the door which took on a strange blue light for several moments. 

When Yuuri was done, the light grew dim and faded. 

“There.” Yuuri let his shoulders sag as his stomach growled in protest. 

Minako shook her head and pocketed her crystal, “You always were good with locking spells. Of course, you have always liked to keep people out of your space.” 

“It’s for everyone else. No one needs to get that close.” Yuuri frowned and rubbed at his stomach briefly. His stomach growled again louder this time. 

Minako grinned and shook her head. “Well, let's go to breakfast. We’ve been invited to eat with Yakov and Yuri.” 

Instantly, Yuuri felt his stomach shrivel up. 

\---- 

“Thank you for inviting us to dine with you, Yakov.” Minako settled in her seat next to Yuuri. In the tower, Yuuri was used to eating with several other people at long wooden benches. However, here in the Iron Fortress, the seating was much more direct and intimate. 

Where Yuuri could have sat away from Yuri and Yakov, now the pair sat across the table from them. Yuuri didn’t have to look up to know that Yuri sat across from him, scowling and sawing into the sausage on his plate. 

_What am I trying to do here?_

“I think with Yuuri joining us, there are a few things that we need to talk about.” Minako spoke up suddenly, her fork hitting the plate with a clink as she speared another piece of meat. 

Yuuri finally looked up, and the other Yuri raised both eyebrows, “I already know what’s going on.” 

“Oh. We really need to fix this.” Minako tapped her fork against the side of her plate as she smiled more to herself than to the men in her company. 

Yakov grunted and bit a chunk out of his bread, “I agree.” 

Minako pointed her fork towards Yuri, “I think we shall call you little Yuri.” 

“What?” Yuri paused mid bite to give Minako a glare which she ignored. 

Yuuri sighed and slumped back in his seat, “Minako that’s a bit-” 

“What? You are older and more in control of your magic. You have the ranking, and he isn’t even a Rosaline. Unless you want to be called something different?” Minako pinched off a piece of her own bread as she smiled slightly at him. 

“You could call him pig. He looks like one after all.” Yuri offered popping another piece of sausage into his mouth. 

Yuuri frowned at the young blond. “Little Yuri it is.” 

Yuri narrowed his eyes at him from across the table. Even with the deadly aura emanating around him, Yuuri smiled slightly, “After all, you need to practice controllingl yourself if you don’t want your magic backlash affecting others.” 

“So to us, you shall be little Yuri for the sake of the conversation.” Minako confirmed as she looked towards Yakov. 

Yakov reached for another piece of sausage at the middle of the table. 

“What we are about to discuss does not leave the table. Yakov, you have to promise that you will let Yuuri and I do what we need to in order to figure out what is going on within your home and in the territory.” Minako laid down her utensil as she brought her napkin up to dab at her mouth. 

“You have my word. Whatever you need.” Yakov muttered as he pushed his plate away and leaned back into his seat. 

“What? You’re just giving them free reign? Just like that?” Yuri scoffed as he eyed both Minako and Yuuri across the table. Yuuri felt his stomach drop. 

“Yura. Shush. You are sticking your nose into things you have no idea about. If you cannot stay silent, then you will leave.” Yakov turned his glare onto his young protégé. Yuri shut his mouth and glared at Yuuri. 

_What did I even do to this kid? Shouldn’t he glare at Yakov instead?_

Minako pointed towards one of the windows at the other side of the hall they were dining in. The frost crept across the window and painted a picture as it moved. “We don’t have a lot of time before things start to get worse. This ice and the snow are not natural.” 

“We know that.” Yuri snapped. 

“No. You probably can’t feel it because you aren’t trained. Northerners probably can’t feel it because the magic in the north is low level, but I am almost positive your court magi can. This ice and snow is the work of unbound magic.” Minako continued. 

“Unbound magic?” Yakov raised both his brows. 

“Yes, it’s powerful magic that’s been let loose. Until we can find the person who released it and get them to stop it, the snow will continue to pile up. The North will die out, and the people who are able will have no choice but to leave or die in their homes.” Minako took a piece of cheese and topped her bread with it. 

Yuri and Yakov sat in stunned silence. 

“Also, this could be impacting Victor’s skill to heal himself.” Minako sighed as she pushed around the last piece of meat on her plate. 

_So that’s why Victor hasn’t come out yet._

_That could also be the reason for so much tension._

“That would make sense. Though he’s always been a hardy person. For him to give so much of himself that his heart would unravel happened so suddenly.” Yakov murmured more to himself than to the others at the table. 

_Heart? Unraveled._

Yuuri glanced at Minako, who didn’t spare him a look as she tapped the end of her fork with her pointer finger absently. 

“Isn’t there some magic that can repair the damage?” Yuri asked quietly. 

Minako frowned and shifted in her chair, “Not that I’ve heard of at least. Also, to make a complex spell to mend something so intricate would definitely take something extremely powerful.” 

Yuuri bit the inside of his cheek as he sighed softly and shut his eyes. 

_What sort of trouble did he get into?_

Shaking his head slowly, Yuuri pushed the thought to the back of his mind as he watched the others at the table. Several things swirled around in his head, but the first was-

“Can I ask a question?” Yuuri murmured holding up his hand. 

“Why are you even asking?” Yuri’s voice sounded weak and with less conviction than usual. 

“Go ahead, Yuuri.” Minako urged quietly. 

Yuuri let his hand fall back into his lap as he trained his eyes on the centerpiece between everyone. It was easier than making eye contact and losing his nerve, “I was talking with the guards last night when I went exploring, and they said there were weird occurances happening since the snow started. Can you tell us what those may be?” 

Yakov groaned and pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead, “Don’t listen to them.” 

Yuri threw up his hands, “Why not? Everyone else is? Maybe they can figure out something that we can’t.” 

Yakov tipped his chin forward and folded his arms over his chest, “You will have to speak with the guards themselves. I have no time to listen to their stories.” 

“I’ll find Phichit, Leo and Guang Hong Ji later and ask.” Yuuri nodded satisfied. 

_Maybe I should ask about the third floor too?_

However, before he could, his stomach dropped, and he turned to look at Minako. Without looking at him, she grasped at the top of his thigh and squeezed. 

_Don’t. Not everything needs to be clarified right now._

“That’s where we will start. I will look into a few things here, and I may need leave to go to the next village for a few days since I was talking to some of the attendants, and they said that there hasn’t been any contact with them.” Minako let her hand draw back as Yuuri listened, and the others seemed to shift their focus back to her. 

Even without talking, Yuuri understood what he would have to do. Minako had been very clear just now. 

“While you are here, I ask only that you help us with Yura and teach him how to better control his magic.” Yakov sighed. 

Yuri balked and looked to Yakov, “But Yakov, I-” 

“No. You could have killed someone. Yuuri was there and was able to dispel it, but if you become a threat to others, then you will not be able to protect Vitya.” Yakov stated. 

Yuri’s mouth opened and closed as he sank down lower in his chair, “This is stupid.” 

“Seung Gil Lee or Yuuri Katsuki. Pick one or the other, but your control is lacking and needs work.” Yakov narrowed his eyes. His tone sent a shiver down Yuuri’s spine as the younger man curled in on himself across from him. 

“Then I’ll pick the pig,” Yuri groused.

Yuuri was both happy and dismayed at the prospect. Minako laughed and pushed her plate away as did Yuuri. “Well, I’m glad that’s settled. This is for our room and board, Yuuri, don’t mess it up.” 

“There’s no way I could!” Yuuri sighed as he pushed his glasses further back on the bridge of his nose. 

“Great. We’ll start the lessons tomorrow,” Yuri growled and stood up, shoving his chair under the table. Yakov flinched, and Minako waved as the young man moved away from the breakfast table they had all been occupying. 

“I am surprised he was able to sit through all of that.” Minako teased. 

“He does have manners, Minako, they are just rarely used. If you will excuse me, I must go get ready for the petition hearings today. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask the staff or the guards.” Standing up Yakov nodded and bowed his head. 

With Yakov’s slow retreat, Yuuri let out a breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding. 

“Minako last night-” Before Yuuri could say anything, his teacher leveled her eyes on him. 

“I know. If we are going to figure this out, we need all the threads we can follow. Just keep looking around, and most of all be careful. We can’t be sure what is going to happen, and if there is anyone wound up further than this.” Minako sighed as she clenched the cotton napkin between her hands. 

Yuuri sighed and shook his head. “I guess we will be here for an indefinite amount of time?” 

“Are you sad?” Minako grinned at him cheekily. 

“No, but there is a lot to do.” Yuuri answered warily. 

“Yuri won’t stay like that for long. Just do what you do best and things will work out in your favor. Besides, this is sort of like taking a protégé at the tower. I know you probably wanted Sara, but we don’t know the next time we will go home.” Minako smiled patiently and patted Yuuri on the arm. 

“Do you think Victor might have another piece of what’s going on?” Yuuri asked. 

_Something about Victor’s absence and now his sickness is making less and less sense. His heart is unravelling, what does that even mean?_

Minako sighed and shook her head, “We don’t have the time to deal with an absent leader. We need to focus on trying to stop the snow and figure out what exactly is going on here.” 

Yuuri thought back to the people they had met, including Yuuko and Takeshi Nishigori. “You’re right. Victor will have to come last, no matter how sick he is, there is no meaning to helping him if we can’t help the people first.” 

Minako nodded and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, “I know you wanted to meet him, and we may still yet, we just need to help all of the Northerner's first. Some first pilgrimage you’ve picked for us.” 

Yuuri buried his face into his mentor’s shoulder and tightened his hold on her. 

_Hopefully we can figure this out before the damage is too great._

\-----

Yuuri sighed and flipped through his own personal books as Minako leaned back on his bed staring at the canopy over her head. Yuuri raised his free hand and gripped a hand into his hair as he sighed again. Minako chuckled. 

“Is something wrong, Yuuri?” Yuuri frowned and turned to look at his old mentor over his shoulder. Minako crossed her legs and stretched her hands over her head. 

“Why don’t you teach Yuri? You’re the one that would be best suited for it.” Yuuri muttered turning back and flipping a few more pages with a bit more gusto. After a second, both of his hands gripped his hair as he groaned softly and tipped his head back. 

“Because you need the practice, and I have already mentored my fill of brash young magic users. It’s your turn.” Minako brushed her feet over the blue velvet and turned on his stomach to watch Yuuri with a small smirk on her face. 

“We don’t have the time to be worried about teaching him, do we?” Yuuri argued feebly. 

“We need a place to stay and food, and this is the easiest task for a magic user.” Minako pointed out as she wiggled her fingers at his back with a grin. Yuuri felt the little jolts crawl up his spine as she moved her fingers. Shutting his spellbook, he turned to her. 

“You act like this is all easy, and that we will figure everything out.” Yuuri stood up and moved towards where his pack set on a side table. Rummaging through his bag, Yuuri heard some of the smaller vials clink, and he pulled out two or three staring at them. 

“It’s not easy, but I have faith that between the two of us there is a lot we can figure out.” Minako hummed and shut her eyes, relaxing into the soft bed. 

“Easy for you to say, you will set out tomorrow, and we don’t know what’s going to happen or what has happened up further north. If the snow is bad here then-” Yuuri trailed off as he found a yellow liquid vial and a green one as he smiled and turned back to his study table. 

“Oh. Now you’re thinking. That will be a good way to start taming the little house cat.” Minako smiled as she opened one eye and watched Yuuri sit back down. 

“You’re avoiding the real problem.” Yuuri muttered as he sat the two vials to the side and pulled out a wrinkled parchment and grabbed a pen. Slowly he drew a circle and then started to quietly work on the runes on the outside of it. 

Minako almost held her breath as he started to work, choosing to stay quiet as Yuuri continued to carefully scrawl on the paper. A good thirty minutes passed before Yuuri sat back and sighed rolling his shoulders. 

Sitting up, Minako squirmed to the edge of the bed and hopped off as she moved to the table. Her eyes took in the sight as she smiled and squeezed his arm, “That’s a beautiful spell.” 

“It’s what I think when I see him.” Yuuri murmured, eying his work. 

“He’s really lucky to have you as a mentor.” Minako ruffled Yuuri’s hair as she stepped back out of the way. Yuuri gave her a thin smile as he reached for the light yellow liquid and popped the cork off the top. He quietly poured the liquid into the middle of the circle. He repeated the same with the slightly more viscous blue from the second tube. 

Slowly, Yuuri inhaled and reached under his shirt, gripping at his own crystal. He could feel the warmth on the tips of his fingers as he slowly let his eyes slide shut, and he let the energy move from the crystal in his palm, down his wrist, past his elbow and up his shoulder, passing over his collar bone. 

The warmth and energy moved back down the other shoulder, past his opposite elbow and through his outstretched fingers. 

The runes and etchings on the paper started to glow, and the liquids started to roll around slowly on the parchment following each loop, rolling closer and closer together until the yellow and blue met and melded into a beautiful light green. 

Slowly but surely, Yuuri could feel the warmth being tugged from inside his fingertips as his magic caressed and pushed the green until it became prismatic. The liquid swirled around for several more seconds and hardened into place. 

Yuuri felt the pull stop, and immediately he leaned forward against the edge of the desk with a sigh. His vision wavered as he opened his eyes, and he looked down at the paper. The crystal glistened on the paper dimly as Yuuri reached out and ran his fingers over the cool surface. 

“I thought this would compliment his eyes.” 

Yuuri smiled as Minako picked up the paper and move towards the window. “Let it sit on the window ledge and charge in the moonlight. Even if the clouds obscure it, there will still be some charge to it. It’ll be ready by the time you see Yuri tomorrow.” 

Yuuri nodded and stood up from the hard wooden study chair, his legs wobbling underneath him. 

Minako moved back towards him and steadied him as she helped him to the bed. “Sleep. I’ll tell them you needed to prepare for Yuri’s lesson and have them bring up dinner to you.” 

“Thanks.” Yuuri yawned and handed Minako his glasses before crawling onto the fluffy bed and sinking into an immediate sleep. Minako watched over him a few moments with a gentle smile before she turned and moved out of Yuuri’s room. 

\-----

Yuuri awoke with a start, his eyes focusing as he looked towards the window. The sun was still up, but it wouldn’t be that way for long. Along the window the frost had drawn patterns on the outside, hiding most of the outside world from him. 

The room was cold because the fire had died out in the fireplace.

The cold made Yuuri’s skin prickle. 

_What is this feeling?_

Shaking his head and pushing down the unease, Yuuri moved into his bathroom and quietly lit one of the torches at the door. The light only carried so far into the dimness of the bathroom. The bathroom at the Iron Fortress was three times larger than any water closet they had at the mage tower. 

It was an extravagance that was wasted on Yuuri. 

There was enough room to move around, and the tub was large enough to sit three to five people comfortably. Moving to the nearest torch, Yuuri also lit it and the others around the room. With the space well lit, the gold fixtures made the room appear warmer in the torchlight. 

Moving towards the pump, Yuuri pulled the mechanism by the wall opening the water chute, allowing warm water to pour into the tub. Stripping quickly, he folded his clothing and put it on the vanity as he sat down on the edge of the tub and waited. After a few more minutes, the steaming water filled the bath enough that he pushed the mechanism back into place and the water stopped flowing. 

_I wonder what I should do with Yuri first._

Yuuri let his thoughts wander as his eyes traced the gold molding on the ceiling. His fingers dipped into the warm water, swirling it around as he sank lower and lower. The light wasn’t as full as he liked, but it gave a nice tender feel to the air around him, his eyes went half-lidded as he relaxed his muscles. 

Calm washed over him, and Yuuri felt his eyes start to close. 

The silence was broken by the sound of claws on the bathroom tile. Yuuri stiffened and slowly sat up. The clicking stopped for a second, before it started again, and a low growl accompanied it. Yuuri braced himself on the edge of the tub and slowly pushed himself up and over. 

Looking around for the intrusion, Yuuri didn’t see anything out of the normal. The growling subsided and again the room was silent. Yuuri took a soft breath and cautiously grabbed a towel as he slid himself towards the mirror for his clothing. 

Grabbing his clothing, he held it to his chest and moved slowly backwards out of the bathroom in the room. Even though there was nothing physically there, that didn’t hide the black mist on the partially fogged mirror or its red eyes. 

_Danger. It is dangerous here. You need to protect yourself._

Yuuri’s hair stood on end as he backed out of the warm light and into the dimness of the full room. The tension squeezed around his heart as he heard the clicking follow him to the bathroom door. 

Reaching down for his own crystal on the dampness of his chest, Yuuri held his breath and dropped his clothing. A loud snarl let loose, and Yuuri willed the energy in the crystal to burn brighter, brighter, and brighter until the glow lit the entire room, and the snarl turned into a surprised yelp and whimper. 

As the light faded, Yuuri felt the tension leave him, and the sound of the fire broke the unnerving silence. 

There was the pounding of boots on the floor outside as the doors were flung open. Yuuri blushed and grabbed the comforter as Minako barged inside. “Yuuri! Are you okay?” 

Yuuri bit his lip and nodded, “Um, yes. I am.” 

Phichit blinked and chuckled as he waved at Yuuri, “Yuuri! Everyone felt something powerful all at once. You should really let us know before you set off a spell like that.” 

Minako watched him quietly with a frown. Yuuri turned and nodded to her as he reached down and grabbed his pants, “Could you both turn around so I can get dressed?” 

“Sure!” Phichit laughed as he turned around and stepped into the hallway. 

Minako took in a deep breath, “Something attacked you.” 

Yuuri pulled on his pants and sighed, “Yes, I’m not sure what though.”

“I think you probably shouldn’t be alone any more than necessary. Whoever or whatever is responsible for some of this obviously has its eyes on you for some reason.” Minako told him as she turned around and looked at Yuuri. 

Yuuri smoothed his hair back off his forehead and sighed as he shook his head, “I wish it had picked a time when I was more prepared and not half asleep in the bath.” 

“Well you’ve always performed well under pressure. For the most part.” Minako tossed Yuuri a clean shirt from his pack.

\-------------

“Even though it’s under weird circumstances, I’m still excited we get to spend time together tonight.” Phichit babbled next to him as he twined his fingers with Yuuri’s and tugged him down the hall. 

Yuuri was so used to the formal uniforms the others wore that he was unused to seeing Phichit in just a black turtleneck and black pair of uniform pants. He allowed himself to be dragged along as he looked over his shoulder towards Minako. She stood in front of his door waving with a smile on her face. 

“I’ll see you later!” Yuuri called at her. 

“Have fun. I’ll clean up and go back to my room for the night.” Minako called after him as she turned and moved inside his room, shutting the door behind her. 

“Yuuri! We are about to have so much fun. Leo and Guang Hong have been asking about when you were going to join us. Besides, this gives you a chance to talk to us about the fortress.” Phichit smiled knowingly as Yuuri stumbled in surprise. 

“You knew that I was looking into that?” Yuuri tensed up. 

Phichit squeezed his upper arm gently, “It’s not exactly a secret. There is a lot going on that is over our heads. It makes sense that a magi would probably hone in on what we couldn’t.” 

Blinking, Yuuri worried his lower lip between his teeth, “There is a lot that doesn’t make sense.” 

Phichit gently patted Yuuri's forearm as they moved down the stairs and towards the guards quarters. “You are definitely right. But the walls have ears, and it's better to go where we can talk freely.” 

The rest of their walk was silent as he allowed himself to be guided down the hallways and to the guard resting room. Phichit let go of Yuuri long enough to open the door and step out of the way so Yuuri could enter. 

The room was medium sized, with three or four beds to the left of the entrance, a fireplace, and a nice medium sized round table to the left where Guang Hong Ji and Leo were sitting with a pile of cards between them. Lining the wall were dummies wearing armor of different sizes. A tapestry of silver and blue hung on the back of the wall, the same one that lined most of the hallways downstairs. The decorating upstairs was a little more sparse from what Yuuri could tell. 

“Guys! Look who I found.” Phichit called as he nudged Yuuri further inside so he could also come in and shut the door behind them. 

Guang Hong Ji and Leo smiled as Phichit moved around Yuuri and grabbed the seat opposite the fireplace. Yuuri moved towards them and took the last chair right in front of the fireplace.

“Your hair looks different like that.” Leo smiled at him nodding towards Yuuri’s slicked back hair. 

Yuuri reached up and smiled ruefully, “Thanks. I didn’t have much of a choice since it hasn’t dried yet.” 

Guang Hong frowned, “Why are you moving around a castle with cold hair?” 

Phichit grabbed the cards from the middle of the table as he started to combine them into an actual stack, “You remember that pulse of magic that we felt earlier when the other magi stuck her head and asked me to come with her? That was Yuuri.” 

Leo and Guang Hong both turned and looked at him and then back to Phichit. “What happened?” 

Phichit shook his head with a small smile, “He was attacked while he was in the bath by something he couldn’t see.” 

Guang Hong stood up and moved towards the chest at the end of the closest bed to the door. After a few seconds of rummaging around, he came back with a small towel, “Here. This is for your hair. We don’t need you getting sick.” 

Phichit rolled his eyes, “That’s why he’s sitting in front of the fire.” 

Leo tapped his fingers on the table, “So you brought him here to watch him?” 

Phichit shook his head, “Not really. It was a good excuse as any to take his time and have him come play with us. Also, it gives us a little bit of time to actually fulfill what we need to do with him as well.” 

Yuuri raised both eyebrows, “What you need to do with me?” 

Leo held up his hands as he spoke, “We were hoping that maybe something we know can help you. Yuri talked to us privately earlier and told us you were going to help him with his magic practice.” 

Yuuri sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. 

_Of course Yuri told his guards. I should have expected this._

Phichit shrugged and waved a hand towards Leo, “Yuuri is here to learn about this place from us, but he is also here to relax. We can talk about all this as we play, and kill two birds with one stone.” 

Guang Hong Ji smiled, “We should play Fish.” 

Phichit scoffed, “No way.” 

Leo nodded, “We just played that last night.” 

Yuuri quietly used the towel as the younger guards continued to argue about what card game they would play. When done, Yuuri placed the towel on the back of his chair to let the fire dry it. 

“War?” Phichit suggested. 

Leo and Guang Hong Ji turned to look at each other and then back to Phichit, “Sounds good.” 

Yuuri raised an eyebrow, “War?” 

Phichit shuffled the cards between his hands, “We deal out the cards face down to everyone, and then we turn over the top card. Whoever has the highest card wins all the cards. If two people have the same card they turn over another card and whoever has the higher card then gets the whole pile. Whoever gets all the cards wins.” 

“Sounds simple enough.” Yuuri smiled. 

“Oh. I have something to make it interesting!” Guang Hong stood up and moved back to his chest and pulled out a bottle, setting it down on the table. 

Leo grinned, and Phichit whistled, “Special occasion.” 

Yuuri blinked at the bottle as Guang Hong took his seat, “Special rules. Since the game goes quick and is fairly short. Losers have to take a drink of that.” 

“Great. Sounds like a plan.” Phichit laughed and shook his head. 

Yuuri eyed the bottle, “I don’t want to get drunk.” 

“Tipsy at least?” Leo suggested helpfully. 

“You’re among friends, Yuuri. You can trust us to have your back.” Phichit smiled and started dealing out the cards. 

“So, before we start the game, let’s talk a little.” Leo suggested as he pushed the cards dealt his way into a manageable stack. 

Yuuri turned towards him, pulling his cards closer to the edge of the table. “Okay.” 

“It might be easier for you to ask us questions about what you want to know.” Guang Hong Ji tapped his fingers against his lower lip as he ignored the card pile in front of him. 

“Ask us anything.” Phichit added as he licked his lower lip and continued to deal cards slowly. 

Yuuri took a deep breath. 

_Is it really okay to trust them?_

There really wasn’t a choice as far as he could see. It was either take their friendship for what it was, and their help, or refuse it and stumble around in the dark. They were Yuri’s knights and if he was about to be mentoring Yuri, it made sense to see them as allies. 

“When you mentioned that strange things were happening, what exactly were you referring to.” Yuuri asked quietly. 

“Well you know that Victor is sick, and that his heart was literally coming apart in pieces. At least that was what the rumor was around the fortress. Yakov and Lilia found him with his magic nearly gone and his heart falling apart as if there were strings holding it together in the first place.” Guang Hong Ji spoke as he gathered his cards and looked at the tops of them, thumb traveling over the worn picture. 

“He didn’t die?” Yuuri felt his stomach drop towards the floor, fingers gripping a little tighter at the cards. 

“It wasn’t his actual heart. But a type of magic that belongs in his heart. Victor is very kind, and the magic he used was tied directly to it so he was able to project his heart out of his body when he used magic,” Phichit explained. 

“His mother taught him that magic, but he wasn’t exactly a strong magi. Maybe just between being a Rosaline and an Amethyst. People warned him to be careful, but he always pushed himself to help and protect the people in his region.” Leo continued as he tapped his fingers on the cards and frowned. 

“Are we starting?” Guang Hong Ji asked as he slid the first card towards the center of the table. Yuuri, Phichit and Leo did the same. Flipping over the card, Yuuri winced. A two. 

“Yes!” Guang Hong Ji grinned as he proudly gathered the cards and put them to the side. 

Slowly, the game began as Phichit hummed thoughtfully, “I’m sure you’ve heard nothing but good things about Victor on your way here.” 

Yuuri played another card. A King. His win. 

Gathering up the cards, he placed them in a pile separate from the cards in front of him, mirroring Guang Hong. “Yes. We heard a lot of incredible things about him. I was disappointed that he wasn’t here.” 

Leo’s fingers twitched before he pushed the cards forward. 

Phichit won the round and whistled with a grin. Yuuri shook his head with a smile as they started to pick up the pace of the game. “People placed too much on him, I think, but part of it was intentional. Yuri was telling us about the schedule that Yakov tried to push onto him.” 

Yuuri paused mid-reveal, “Schedule?” 

“Being the lord of the fortress has it’s perks, but more often than not it’s a hard position to be in. Victor was stretched thin, and we think it might have been because they wanted to break him.” Guang Hong Ji muttered, biting his thumb as Leo pulled the round of cards his way. 

Yuuri sighed and rubbed his pointer finger over his brow before he pushed the next card towards the middle of the table, “What makes you think that?” 

“The inner council that works with Yakov would like nothing more than to have someone that would let them sit around. Victor was always keeping them on their toes that it’s no wonder they wanted him out of the way.” Guang Hong looked up at Yuuri. 

Yuuri stared back before averting his eyes and playing another card. 

“I can see why Yuri picked you as his guards. All three of you seem to be close to him and very inside what is going on,” Yuuri murmured. 

“Actually, we were assigned by the council as his guards. Haven’t you noticed that we are the youngest three here, and the only three given the guard resting quarters?” Phichit asked as he grabbed the cards from the center of the table with a smirk. 

“That’s not because we are the best at what we do, but because we’re still green.” Leo frowned, leaning back in his chair as he ran out of cards. 

“If an accident were to happen, and we didn’t catch it in time to save Yuri, it would be a shame,” added Guang Hong Ji as he ground his teeth and slapped another card down. The rounds started to come quicker and quicker. 

Finally, Yuuri was out, and only Phichit and Guang Hong Ji continued the game. 

“We might be green, but we aren’t stupid. Yuri will replace Victor, and they will keep Victor hidden away to keep Yuri in check.” Phichit sighed as he lost another 4 cards. 

Yuuri shook his head. 

That was the type of confrontation they were obviously used to. Even though Yakov and the others seemed dutiful and benign, were they really? 

_If what these guards say is right, then…_

Then things were worse than they probably imagined. 

Yuuri took a deep breath and frowned as he let his eyes wander. Leo watched him with a small frown on his face, “What’s on your mind?” 

“I think that there are a lot of weird things...Victor’s condition, the snow fall in the region, the weird feeling on the third floor, and whatever tried to attack me this evening.” 

Phichit grinned and grabbed the rest of the cards as he motioned to the bottle, “Drink up!” 

Leo, Guang Hong Ji, and Yuuri all took a swig. The alcohol burned its way down the back of Yuuri’s throat and settled warm in his belly. It wasn’t an unpleasant burn, but one that made his limbs feel slightly heavy. 

“All of it is really weird when you think about it,” Guang Hong Ji agreed. 

“Isn’t there a magi employed on staff?” Yuuri asked quietly. 

All three of the guards exchanged looks, “There is. His name is Seung Gil Lee. He’s part of the inner council. He doesn’t really come out to talk with people, and most of the time stays in his study.” 

“What is his level? Do you know?” Yuuri pressed quietly as Phichit started to shuffle the cards again. 

“He’s an Emerald level magi.” Leo bit his lower lip as he wiggled his fingers and waited for all the cards to be dealt. 

Phichit paused and looked at Yuuri, all traces of the levity off his face, “Yuuri. Whatever you do, don’t pick a fight with Seung Gil. It’ll make what you are trying to do much worse.” 

Yuuri took a deep breath and nodded. “How about another round?” 

The tension fled as Phichit grinned and went back to dealing for the round. 

\------

After the first couple of rounds, Yuuri had stopped asking questions having been satisfied enough with what the others could tell him. Leaving the others for the night, Yuuri slowly moved down the hallway alone hand on the wall to steady himself. 

Pressing his free hand against his forehead, he chuckled at himself. “I told them I didn’t want to get drunk.” 

Even though he technically wasn’t drunk, his body felt sluggish, and his head buzzed pleasantly as he moved towards the stairs and slowly up them. Almost too soon, the second floor opened up, and Yuuri slowly trekked towards his room. 

Before reaching his room, however, Yuuri paused and pressed his forehead to the cool tile. 

_Minako said she wanted to clean up, and she probably erected a ward._

He could feel the strange power at the door just a few steps down from him. The growl and clicking of claws on the tile played over and over in his mind. He had seen the shadow and the red eyes and the light he had pushed out had banished the creature without endangering himself. 

His mind wrapped around itself, and the thoughts came slow as he tried to tease the threads apart and make sense of them. 

Footsteps shuffled on the floor to his left, and Yuuri let his eyes slide shut. Forcing himself to stand up, he turned towards where the sound was coming from.

A young man a few winters younger stood in the middle of the hallway in a black robe with gold at the hems. Around his waist was a blue sash wrapped several times and knotted at the top of his right hip. A braided brown belt sat on top of the knot and hung low on the other side past his hip where a braided cord ran down his side a few inches. On top of his robes, he had a thick green cloak fastened at his collarbone, the sides fastened back behind his shoulders. 

His lips were drawn into a thin line, eyes dark and hair a little longer and more untamed than Yuuri’s. But there was a presence to him, and a power that made the pleasant buzz Yuuri had all but simmer out of his system. 

“It’s shameful. A magi consorting with guards and drinking.” The other spoke softly, but his words were heavy. 

Yuuri felt a jolt inside his chest, “There is nothing wrong with getting to know people and enjoying a few drinks. The magi in the tower never said that drinking alcohol was shameful.” 

“Then the most shameful part is who you have chosen to ally yourself with. A person of your power should seek those with power.” The stranger took a few steps forward towards Yuuri. Yuuri stood straighter, eyes narrowing on the young man. 

“I think you’re wrong. Magi exist to help others and pass on their knowledge and power.” Yuuri argued as the other stopped just a mere few feet away. 

“Is that so?” Yuuri studied the other across from him, even without trying to he could feel the other’s presence and the magic running under his skin. It was a feral kind of magic that he had only felt once or twice before. 

It was an old magic, something that Yuri hadn’t studied and that wasn’t taught at the tower. “Who are you?” 

Bowing his head slightly, the other magi let his lips turn upwards in the barest hint of a smile. However the smile did nothing to cast warmth into the cold eyes. “I am the court magi Seung Gil Lee.” 

_Oh._

Already, he had run into the one person Phichit and the others had warned him about. Yuuri bit the inside of his cheek and nodded his head, “I would introduce myself, but I’m sure you already know who I am.” 

Seung Gil smirked and stood back up, “Yuuri Katsuki. Your name has run around the magi circles quite a bit the last few years. Some people refer to you as the savior of Amerius, and others-” 

The magi let his words trail off. Neither one of them needed to speak those words for Yuuri to feel them under his skin and to hear them whispered in the silence between them. 

_The Butcher._

“How did you hear about that?” Yuuri heard the words flow as spoke, but it felt as if they hadn’t quite been spoken to him. 

Seung Gil Lee waved his hand dismissively, “Knowledge is power. Power is something that all magi seek whether they want to admit it or not. You are the same as the rest of us, so you should wear your name proudly, Yuuri Katsuki.” 

“There is nothing to be proud of when you lose control and that results in the loss of life.” Yuuri clenched his teeth together as he flexed his fingers at his side. Seung Gil tipped his head up with a menacing smile. 

“Loss of control lets you tap into wells of power inside you that you never even knew you had. After all, that spell you used from earlier to vanquish your foe wouldn’t have come to you if you hadn’t used it in Amerius.” Yuuri felt his insides go hot and cold at once. 

_It was his creature._

Seung Gil Lee took a step forward, and Yuuri reflexively took one back. “If I had that type of power, things would be different around here. Very different.” 

Taking a deep breath, Yuuri planted his feet and stood his ground as the other moved slowly towards him, never once letting his eye’s leave Yuuri’s. “I like to play on the side of people who have power. You have power, Yuuri Katsuki, and if you allied yourself with me there would be very little we couldn’t accomplish.” 

Seung Gil didn’t stop moving forward until their chests touched. He reached up to let his gloved fingers slide up and brush the the hair on the nape of Yuuri’s neck, tugging at the strands hard enough to make Yuuri’s cheeks flush and a shiver roll down his spine. “There is always something seductive about people who have true power.” 

His other hand brushed down the back of Yuuri’s glove and under the leather covering the bottom part of the tattoo as Seung Gil tipped his head up, his lips inches away from Yuuri’s, his eyes roaming over Yuuri’s lips. 

Yuuri reached up and grabbed Seung Gil’s wrist and squeezed as he untangled the slender fingers from his hair, “I don’t know what you’re playing at, but I’m not interested.” 

Seung Gil winced as Yuuri pushed the other out of his personal space. Standing taller, Yuuri marched around Seung Gil and moved back down the hall towards his room. Before he moved completely inside, he turned to stare down the younger magi. “You know what’s going on. You know how to stop the snow, don’t you? You also know what happened to Victor and where he is.” 

The other magi smiled at Yuuri and turned his back to him as he moved towards the stairs closest to them both, “I’m not sure you should go around accusing people so wildly. It may turn out to be bad for your health, Katsuki.” 

Yuuri didn’t go inside his room until the other had disappeared from sight. 

\-----

Minako frowned as she wrapped a cloak around her shoulders and grabbed her pack. “The court magi was the one that attacked you?” 

“He didn’t confirm it or deny it, but he brought up that I was attacked. So at the very least he knows there is something going on.” Yuuri sat half on the bare study table in Minako’s room. Her room was even bigger than his, which made sense since she was the older magi and also higher ranked.

Minako frowned. “Watch your back while I’m gone. If all else fails make sure you surround yourself with people.” 

Yuuri nodded quietly, all the levity between them gone. Reaching out, he wrapped his arms around Minako squeezing her gently, “The same goes for you, too. Please come back no matter what you see.” 

“I promise I’ll be back, but it might not be for a little while. Until then spend your time with Phichit, the other guards, and with little Yuri. Yakov will protect you as long as you do that. His hands are tied right now, but he’s a good man in a bad situation.” Pulling back from Yuuri, Minako tossed her cloak around her and turned moving outside into the snow and ice where several guards waited on horses. 

Yuuri turned back around and let out a slow breath as he headed back into the stale warmth of the fortress. 

Everyone had their part to play, and he needed to make sure and do his. Patting his pocket, Yuuri felt the outline of the green prism and set his jaw. Moving towards the study room, he poked his head inside. 

Yuri looked up at him from the table, books spread around him, and his hand on his cheek. As soon as he realized it was Yuuri, he hopped up and took off towards the door. “Finally!” 

“Sorry, were you waiting long?” Yuuri asked as Yuri pushed the door open and grabbed him by the arm dragging him out of the study. 

“Yes. Ten years!” snapped Yuri. 

Yuuri chuckled as he allowed the other to drag him down the hall. “I haven’t been here ten year.” 

“Shut up!” growled the teen. 

Moving into a door near the throne room, Yuri dropped Yuuri’s arm and shut the door behind them. Yuuri turned away from the other and let himself take in the room. It was a long room, with windows lining the left side, though there was a line drawn just before them and a spell on the floor. 

“Huh. That’s interesting. It’s a spell to make sure the windows don’t break.” Yuuri moved slowly down the length of the line of spell as he paused at the end, tapping his foot beside the last character. 

“The only class I took from that jerk I busted all the windows.” Yuri moved to stand beside him. Yuuri hummed in the back of his throat amused. 

_His script is so flowery and awkward._

“What are you grinning about? I took out half a dozen windows. My power is high level!” Yuri grumbled as he scuffed the bottom of his boot on the stone floor.

“Yes, I’m sure.” Yuuri shook his head. 

Since he had not been traveling, Yuuri had opted for a white button up shirt and a pair of black pants and his boots. His own crystal hung around his neck in plain view as he turned towards Yuri. “By the end of today, I am going to teach you several things. When you have advanced a few levels, I’m going to have you erase that spell yourself.” 

_I’m a little wary of having any of that magic in here when we really start to practice._

“Oh? Don’t like Seung Gil?” Yuri turned to study him quietly, a strange look on his face. 

Yuuri cleared his throat, “He’s not my favorite person here.” 

Yuri nodded, “He’s a creep.” 

Yuuri shook his head with a smile, “You should always show other magi respect, Yuri, especially someone who could do damage with his magic to your person.” 

Yuri rolled his eyes, “With all due respect, he’s a creep.” 

Yuuri grinned. 

Eying Yuri head to toe, Yuuri motioned to his jacket. “From now on, when we have practice you need to wear something simple. Just a button up shirt and pants will work.” 

Yuri scoffed, “What does what I am wearing have to do with magic?” 

“You’ll see. First, I have something for you.” Yuuri smiled at him and dug around inside his pocket, fingers locking around the prism. 

“A present? Why?” Yuri stepped closer to him as Yuuri pulled out the prism, holding it out for his protégé on a silver chain. Yuri squinted at it, looked at Yuuri and then back to the prism. 

“It’s a tradition. When you take on a protégé to mentor, they are the ones to fasten your first magical crystal.” Yuuri explained. 

Yuri blinked and reached out, tentatively wrapping his fingers around the stone and holding it up to examine it. “You made this for me?” 

Yuuri smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yes. I wanted the color of the stone to compliment your eyes. To get that color I was able to use different materials than normal.”

“I’ll master this in no time. Don’t be sad when it breaks.” Yuri warned as he slipped the silver chain around his neck. The stone glowed and Yuri’s legs wobbled as he slid to the ground with a thump. 

“Hey! What is this?” Yuri growled as he tried to remove the chain from his neck, but it simply glowed and refused to budge. 

“You’re supposed to teach me magic, not use magic _on_ me! Why can’t I move? Why does this feel so heavy! Hey!” Yuri grunted as he continued to use all his strength to remove the chain, his arm muscles flexing. 

Yuuri sat on the ground near him, “You lack a foundation to be able to use the magic to help you. If you keep growing in strength and neglect your training, your magic will eventually go out of control and someone will get hurt. The materials I used to fasten the pendant are going to act as a siphon and storage.” 

“Storage?! This thing?” Yuri looked at the pendant grasped in his hand. When the other’s anger flared, the pendant flared to life as well. Dropping it back to his chest, Yuri glowered, and Yuuri smiled. 

“Don’t worry. One day you’ll be able to remove the pendant, but for now, you need to wear it at all times. Your first task is to try and get your body to obey you and for you to move. I’ll give you until lunch. If you don’t complete the task, then I guess you’re going to be hungry.” Yuuri grinned at the other as he removed his own crystal from around his neck. 

“Ugh! This is the worst.” Yuri threw up his hands. Where the movements used to come to him without a thought, they now felt three times as heavy. 

“Just think how much stronger you will be when you’re able to master moving with your magic constantly being stored.” Yuuri hummed pleasantly as he held his crystal in the palm of his hand. 

“Did that woman you were with ever do this to you?” Yuri asked, eyes narrowed on his new teacher. 

Yuuri held the crystal in the palm of his hand as it pulsed with a gentle light. He let his eyes slide shut as he smiled and let himself concentrate on storing his own extra energy, “No, she did way worse.” 

“This sucks!” Yuri grumbled. 

“Lunch time, Yuri,” Yuuri reminded his protégé serenely as he let himself concentrate on his own storing and settled in to wait. 

\-----

It was six days before Yuri found enough control in himself to join Yuuri and Yakov to eat lunch at the assigned time. The teenager drug himself to his seat, near the end of the meal. Yakov blinked and stared at him as Yuri’s forehead met the edge of the table, his hands gripping the edge of it as he lifted his head and glared daggers at Yuuri. 

Yuuri smiled and reached out, grabbing the piece of bread several feet away from Yuri as he pinched off a piece and popped into his mouth. “Congratulations on making lunch. I was starting to worry.” 

“Worry my ass.” Yuri grunted as he forced himself to sit up and pick up his fork. 

Yakov didn’t look up from his own soup, “Language at the table, Yura.” 

The stone sitting on Yuri’s chest pulsed bright and kept a continuous glow. Yuuri leaned over and tapped the stone, “Wow. That’s a lot of rage in one body.” 

“I’ve still got plenty rage left in there for you from the past week.” Yuri’s words had bite, but the prism didn’t pulse. 

Yuuri smiled, “Well, it looks like someone is learning some control. Good job, Yuri.” 

He took his fork and knife, cutting off a large slice of meat for the hungry teen, and placed it on Yuri’s plate. He didn’t mention how he noticed the momentary soft look on Yuri’s face or the flush that rose to his student’s cheeks before he dug into the meal with gusto. 

Yakov looked up to Yuuri and nodded once. Yuuri felt his own cheeks flush as he turned himself towards Yuri. “Because you did so well, I’m going to teach you something special tonight.” 

Yuri paused mid-bite to nod at his teacher before he went straight back to shoving food into his mouth with purpose. Yakov raised an eyebrow, “It’s not going to cause trouble, is it?” 

Yuuri shook his head with a smile, “No, but this might just help with the snow a little.” 

Yakov nodded and quietly swirled his spoon around the inside of the bowl in the stew he had yet to eat. “Any relief from the constant snow would be welcome as long as there are no busted windows.” 

Yuri glared at the older man as Yuuri hid his smile behind the chunk of bread he was working on. 

Lunch went quickly, and Yuuri left both Yakov and Yuri to finish the rest of their meal as he wandered the hallway. It wasn’t long before he found himself drawn to the guard quarters that Phichit, Leo, and Guang Hong Ji occupied. 

Reaching up, Yuuri knocked on the door.

Yuuri heard scrambling on the other side before Phichit opened the door, his eyes half open from sleep. When his gaze settled on Yuuri, he gave the other a sleepy smile, “Yuuri.” 

Yuuri smiled back, “Sorry, I didn’t know you were asleep.” 

Phichit held the door open and shook his head, “Come on in. You are more than welcome in here. It’s just me after all.” 

“All the more reason I should let you sleep.” Yuuri defended weakly. However, without too much fuss, Phichit pulled him inside the dark room. 

“If you feel that bad then lay down with me for a bit. Leo’s bed is next to mine, and he definitely won’t mind you using it as long as you remake the bed.” Phichit murmured moving back to his own bed and motioning to the one close beside his own. The guard was wearing nothing but a pair of pants. Phichit crawled back into the nest of blankets he had unwrapped himself from. 

Yuuri sighed and sat on Leo’s bed as he unlaced his boots. Phichit yawned and closed his eyes, dozing as the magi joined him, curling up with his arms around one of Leo’s pillows. 

The silence of the room felt different from his own, and before he knew it, his eyes slid shut. Phichit hummed in the back of his throat as Yuuri dozed silently for a few moments. 

“Yuuri?” Phichit’s sleepy voice called out to him in the dimness of the room. Warm fingertips reached out finding his own. 

Yuuri stirred and blinked at his friend, “Hmm?” 

“Why did you come to find me?” Phichit asked softly, his fingers wandering over the back of Yuuri’s hand absently. The touch was gentle, reassuring, and nothing like the unwelcome pressure of Seung Gil. 

“I was wondering if you had heard anything from the guards who were sent out, or Minako…” Yuuri murmured back, his eyes closed and breathing slowed. 

Phichit squeezed his fingertips and shook his head, “No. We haven’t. They must be on their way back at least. Give it a few more days, and if we haven’t heard from them we will go searching, okay?” 

Yuuri nodded let his eyes slide shut once more. 

It felt as if he had just closed his eyes when all of the sudden the door slammed open and light streamed in from the hallway. Heavy footsteps rounded the door, “Must be nice to sleep while I’m suffering!” 

Yuuri cracked one eye open and stared at Yuri. The other looked very annoyed, as he stared over Yuuri to Phichit who was half peeking out from under his pillow. “If this becomes a pattern, I’m locking the door.” 

With nothing more to say, Phichit curled back up and went still. 

Yuri turned his attention back to Yuuri and tipped his head outside the door. Yuuri shook his head and slowly sat up grabbing his boots as he moved out into the hallway, shutting the door behind him. 

Yuri spun around and pressed his fingertip into Yuuri’s chest, “You. What made you think it was a good idea to take a nap in the same room as that creature in there?” 

“That creature? You mean Phichit?” Yuuri asked, tipping his head to the side. 

“No. That _thing_ is not Phichit until it’s awake. That thing will kill you and fall asleep in your blood.” Yuri stepped back, and Yuuri went about pulling on his boots and tying them tightly. 

“I take it he’s not a morning person.” Yuuri asked with a chuckle while Yuri waited for him, tugging at the cuff of his button up shirt. 

“That’s an understatement. I once accidentally woke him up and regretted it for a week straight.” Yuri confessed as Yuuri stood up. 

Looking at the other there was a light in his eyes that Yuuri hadn’t seen before when they had been together. Yuri raised an eyebrow, “What?” 

Yuuri shook his head, “Nothing. I guess this is about what I said earlier?” 

Yuri nodded with a small grin, “You told me you’d show me how to do something cool. Don’t think I’d just let you nap all day and forget it.” 

Yuuri nodded and motioned for Yuri to follow him outside, “Sure. I wouldn’t go back on a promise, Yuri.” 

“Yeah, I can tell from the way you act.” Yuri followed Yuuri towards the entrance that led outside to the courtyard. Yuuri stepped outside, the wind whipping around his face pushing his hair back away from his forehead as he moved down the icy path. 

“What the hell? Can’t you show me this inside where we won’t freeze to death?” Yuri called from the entrance, wrapping his arms around himself. Yuuri motioned over his shoulder for the other to follow him. 

“Aren’t you cold?” Yuri shouted as snow crunched over his boots. 

“Yes, but we won’t be for long if things go well.” Yuuri answered as he moved out to the middle of the courtyard. Pausing, he turned to Yuri and motioned for him to stand opposite him. The blond shivered and wrapped his arms around his torso, his teeth chattering. 

“I’m only going to be out here for few seconds, “ Yuri warned. 

“Okay, okay.” Yuuri slowly took off his own crystal, and he motioned for Yuri to do the same. 

“Are you kidding me? You want me to take this thing off? I haven’t been able to do that since you gave it to me,” Yuri wrinkled his nose as the snow fell around them, whipping past and cutting into their skin every time the wind rushed by. 

“Just try it. You’ll find that you’ll be able to take it off when you need to.” Yuuri offered as he waited patiently. 

Yuri glared at him, snow starting to stick to his blond hair. 

“If we stay out here, the risk of hypothermia is real. You might want to at least try.” Yuuri ordered. 

Taking a deep breath, Yuri reached up and slowly slid his fingers around the prism. He lifted it. The chain came away easily, and Yuri looked up towards Yuuri. He nodded once and motioned with his free hand, “Mirror me, okay? I’m going to teach you a simple spell. One that you’ll like practicing.” 

“Ok.” Yuri whispered, his breath leaving his lips in a puff of steam. 

“Hold the prism just like that. Good. Now what we are going to do is release some of the stored up magic in your pendant. If we don’t do that, then the pendant will eventually crack and break, and all the energy will be lost.” Yuuri shouted into the howling wind around them. 

“Hurry up! I’m freezing!” Yuri whined as his teeth chattered and clacked together, and his body shivered. 

The crystal in Yuri’s hand pulsed, and Yuuri let his own match the energy within the other. Both crystals pulsed slowly together as Yuuri let his hang like a pendulum. Yuri dropped his as well. 

“The spell is Alimay Itrant Barius, okay? You have to say it with purpose which will force the energy to release.” Yuuri called out to the other. Yuri tucked his free arm under his other armpit as his body trembled. 

“Ready? Go.” 

Yuuri took a deep breath, and Yuri opened his eyes and pushed his magic to listen to him. His eyes lit up a brilliant gold as both called out into the harsh wind and snow, “Alimay Itrant Barius!” 

Beams of light shot from both pendants. They moved upwards towards the sky, forming a circle. Yuuri kept watch over Yuri, whose eyes were focused above them as a circle of light formed and shot out to the corners of the fortress. 

Yuri looked back at him eyes wide, “What?!” 

Yuuri put a finger up to his own lips, “Shhh. Just let it work.” 

The light zigged and zagged in lightning arcs as the circle above them widened and widened and widened until the whole entire property was covered, and then as if there was a box around the property, the light burst forth and exploded in fireworks of silver and gold. 

Just as soon as the light was there, it faded and was gone. 

The gold in Yuri’s eyes died down, as did the light inside his pendant. Yuuri waited for another second and then approached the young blond, slipping his pendant from his hand and putting it back around his neck. “There. All done.” 

“All done? What the hell did it do?” Yuri whispered, his voice cracking. 

“Do you see that?” Yuuri motioned around them. 

“See what?” Yuri asked dumbly as he scanned the sky around them. 

“Exactly.” Yuuri nodded with a grin. Yuri’s mouth formed a silent “o.” 

Yuri whipped around and raised his hands up. There was no snowfall, in fact, the air was warmer than it had been, and the biting winds were gone. Yuri turned,looking around the courtyard, and Yuuri smiled as the other’s voice trembled, “Yuuri. Is this? Did we?” 

“Well, I’d be lying if I said it was half me and half you. I just helped you direct that extra magic into something you could tap into.” Yuuri looked up as the snow fell around the perimeter but not on the fortress. 

“Yura! Yuuri! What is the meaning of this?” Yakov’s gruff voice shouted out from the entrance of the main castle. 

Beside him stood several other men, guards, and Seung Gil. The latter took a step outside and held his hand up, his eyes going back towards Yuuri, “They cast a barrier around the Iron Fortress to keep out the snow. That’s an extremely advanced spell.” 

Yuri slid closer to his mentor as Yuuri smiled at the others, “Yuri actually did that. I just helped him form the spell. Within a few hours the snow should be gone from the walls of the fortress.” 

Yakov’s jaw dropped, as a cheer rose up around him. Yuuri placed a hand on Yuri’s lower back nudging him forward. Yuri stumbled and moved towards the ecstatic group. Yuuri followed slowly. Yakov grabbed the young man and lifted him into the air. “You did well, Yuratchka! I am so proud of you!” 

Yuri’s eyes widened and a large grin broke onto his face as he hugged the old man around the shoulders. 

Yuuri smiled at the pair and tried to ignore the presence of Seung Gil’s eyes roaming over his body. 

\----

As the celebration continued throughout the foyer of the castle, and more and more people joined the group, Yuuri was able to use the ensuing chaos and cheerfulness to quietly edge himself up the stairs. 

_I knew they would be happy, but I had no idea that they would be **this** happy._

With everyone celebrating, Yuuri quietly moved up the stairs and onto the floor where his room was. He moved towards the door, heart feeling lighter than it had in the past week and a half they had been there. 

“I wonder if what I did would make Minako happy?” Yuuri murmured as he pressed his fingers to the door checking the wards that she had placed over his protection and locking spell. Nothing felt out of sorts which made Yuuri relax. 

Minako had been the type of mentor to offer a push or a nudge in the right direction. She had been strict, but Yuuri had blossomed under her teaching. Yuri needed a different kind of guidance and would have shrugged off any other method. Yuuri was more than happy to push the other to open himself up; after all, magi shared their knowledge and helped others. 

Yuri was now learning the euphoria and happiness from helping others. It was a great feeling, one that he would never forget. He certainly hadn’t forgotten the first time he had helped someone and received a shy smile and a beautiful red rose for healing a girl's ankle. 

 

 _I want good things for him. I may not be the best magi, but I can at least give him the tools to control his magic and the foundation to work with._

A soft whimper echoed down the hallway. Yuri’s hand tightened on the intricate handle of his temporary bedroom door. 

“Wha-” 

A whimper bounced down the hall, and Yuuri blinked and looked around him. 

There wasn’t anything that should have been making that noise in the hallway. However, as he turned back around to look in the way he came, at the foot of the stairs was a familiar shape. A tiny brown poodle sat at the bottom of the steps. 

Yuuri felt his body lock up as his hands fell to his sides. 

_It’s not real. He’s not here._

The tiny brown poodle wiggled its tail as it noticed Yuuri looking in its direction. The puppy than moved up the stairs, crawling from one to the next. It was having some difficulty due to its size it went up, up, and up. 

A loud whine from the tiny creature and a squeaky BOOF was all the invitation he needed. Yuuri turned so quickly, he stumbled and fell on his knees. Pain coursed up his shins as he scrambled up off the floor and used his momentum to carry him forward and up the stairs. 

“Vicchan?!” 

He jogged up the stairs just catching the tiny puppy’s butt wiggle before it disappeared. Gasping for air, Yuuri paused. 

_This can’t be Vicchan._

Another plaintive whine pushed Yuuri to continue his movements. Yuuri stood in the dimly lit hallway when he heard a giggle and a soft whisper in that quiet timbre that he was familiar to him.

 _”Yuuri…this way…_

Taking a step forward, Yuuri forced himself down the hallway. Moving slowly, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and the sudden urge to flee gripped at his lungs and squeezed them tight. His vision wavered as the sound of a door opening with a slow creak was followed by light spilling out into the dark hallway. 

The silhouette of a tiny poodle wiggled it’s body more than its tail and disappeared into the light. 

“Vicchan!” Yuuri called out as he crept towards the room. Peeking inside, he squinted as his eyes adjusted to the light. 

There was no poodle prancing around the floor. 

The room was the largest by far that he had seen in the whole fortress. The room was easily the size of his room twice over. It was decorated in dark blues and silvers, the crest of the Nikiforovs hanging above the mantle of one of the two large fireplaces on the walls. It was comfortable, well lit, and cozy despite being spacious.

On one side, there was a large table, a study nook, and a bookshelf, and on the other was a chair by the fire, as well as a place to sit down and dine. 

At the back was a large bed and another door beside the bed that most likely led to a private bathroom. 

_Leave. Don’t stay here. Go!_

The feeling returned full force, knocking the breath out of Yuuri and making his vision swim. Reaching up, Yuuri clutched his chest. Before he could leave, out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement at the bed. His head snapped up, and he let out a confused squeak, “Eh?” 

Sitting on the bed, arms in his lap and eyes on Yuuri was the leader of the Iron Fortress, Victor Nikiforov. 

\----

“Victor, why are you here? I heard that you were not well.” Yuuri called out to the older man as he slowly approached. 

_Not right. Needs help. Fix him…_

The voice in the back of his head urged. 

Whatever or whomever led him here had wanted him to find Victor, that much was certain, but even as he approached Victor, turned his eyes on Yuuri, and it was like the other was seeing him without observing him. His brow furrowed as his pale fingers brushed over the covers that covered his lap. His white shirt was askew, showing off his shoulder and collarbone on the right side. 

His hair was pulled back out of his face, the tail of the braid resting in front of his left shoulder. 

“Victor?” Yuuri murmured again. 

The man quietly turned in the direction of his voice as he reached out almost blindly, “I’m so cold.” 

Yuuri reached out, gently brushing his fingers over the tips of Victor’s. The man gasped and pulled his hand back for a second. Yuuri flinched and moved to draw his own hand back when suddenly Victor surged forward, his hand grasping Yuuri’s. “Warm. You’re so warm.” 

The awe in Victor’s voice and the peace that washed over his face as he lifted Yuuri’s hand to his cheek kept Yuuri from tugging away in embarrassment. Victor let his eyes close and he pressed his cheek into the palm of Yuuri’s hand. 

Yuuri gently tried to pull away, but Victor’s hand gripped just a bit harder. “I’ve been so cold. Please...don’t take this warmth away from me.” 

“I can’t. You can’t keep me here. I don’t think I am supposed to know you’re here.” Yuuri spoke softly. Victor whimpered and held onto his hand nuzzling against his palm, eyes shut and lips parting. 

Yuuri’s breath constricted in his chest for other reasons this time. The sick feeling that had plagued him on the floor slowly ebbed away as Victor brushed his lips against the leather palm of Yuuri’s fingerless gloves. 

Yuuri shivered. “Victor.” 

The man didn’t respond to him, but he did tug once, hard and Yuuri lost his balance and tumbled onto the bed. Victor reached out with his other hand and he brushed his hand over Yuuri’s neck and down his back making a face at the fabric in the way. 

“Take it off.” Victor demanded as he looked at Yuuri with those slightly misted over blue eyes. 

“Excuse me?” Yuuri squeaked. 

Victor’s cold hand brushed under the hem of his shirt. “Take. It. Off. You’re like a furnace. I haven’t felt this warm in a long time.” 

Yuuri squirmed and tried to pull away, but once again Victor tugged him back into his arms and onto his lap. “VICTOR!” 

He had every intention to fight back. Yuuri knew that this was beyond bad if he was seen in Victor’s lap. But, as his back met Victor’s chest, Yuuri stopped moving and the other wrapped his arms around him. His eyes widened as his skin was met with the coldest body he had ever felt. 

The only other body he had felt this cold had been- 

“Please. Warm me up. Don’t leave.” Victor pressed his face into Yuuri’s neck. 

The touch was unpleasant, but slowly, ever so slowly, Yuuri willed himself to relax, and when he did, Victor also relaxed. Leaning back against Victor’s broad chest, Yuuri let the other hold onto him. 

“Did you know that your whole land is freezing? Do you know what’s going on at all?” 

Victor’s face pressed into his neck making Yuuri shiver; the other was so cold. “Stay here with me, I’ll give you anything you want as long as you stay.” 

“I won’t go anywhere.” Yuuri murmured, his hands smoothing over Victor’s ice cold arms. True to his word, Yuuri settled in. It was going to be a very long night. 

\----

Yuuri opened his eyes and looked around room. 

Mirrors rotated at the edges, slowly spinning as chimes played softly in the distance. There was no fire to illuminate the room. The only light inside was from the moon shining into a skylight overhead. The glass itself was tinted blue and etched with light blue snowflakes, small enough that they looked like twinkling stars instead. 

As he exhaled, Yuuri saw his breath in front of him, steam rising from his lips. Taking a step forward, the floor underneath his foot shimmered and bounced down lightly underneath him as he walked. The light from his steps echoed down deeper and deeper still as the sound of his footsteps ricocheted above his head around the room. 

Towards the middle of the room was a large jagged explosion of ice that reached ten or twenty feet above his head. The quiet of the room made Yuuri hold his breath as he took slow cautious steps towards the large ice crystal in the middle of the room. 

The closer Yuuri drew to it, the more the wind started to pick up. Thin slivers of ice rode the wind, moving past him, slicing the flesh of his cheeks and his arms through his shirt. Still, Yuuri pressed on. 

There was a heaviness that pinched inside his chest as he moved closer and closer. The broken and sharp edges of the ice loomed over him as he moved forward. Yuuri saw that the ridges and spikes protected something. 

No, _someone_. 

Reaching to his chest, he touched the crystal at his chest, and a small light was born under his fingertips. Holding his other hand, he pressed his fingertips to the cold surface. The wind picked up, throwing more and more ice needles at him. Yuuri ground his teeth and ducked his head to protect his face as he pushed forward. 

The outside of the ice rippled and Yuuri’s hand sunk in inch by inch. The small cuts stung cold even as blood trickled from each and every tiny cut. 

Slowly, Yuuri moved forward until his body was fully submerged in the ice cold prison around him. 

_I don’t think I will ever feel warm again._

The silence around him was way too loud. 

Yuuri opened his eyes. The moonlight made the light inside the ice shimmer and move as if it were light upon the water. Yuuri felt his teeth chatter and his body tremble with each movement he made. 

As he kept moving forward, he saw a large throne in front of him, the top of the chair jagged and broken. The chair seemed to glow in the moonlight, showcasing the figure trapped inside the ice. 

Victor. 

It was Victor encased in the ice, eyes shut, smile on his lips. His arms broken and smashed around the foot of the throne. One leg had cracked and shattered, and his boot lay on its side a few steps from Yuuri. 

“Victor…” 

_Victor...Victor...Victor…_

His voice echoed around him. The strength left Yuuri’s legs as he fell to his knees with the weight of the other’s state, thick inside the coldest prison imaginable. Yuuri slapped his hands over his mouth pressing with trembling fingers. Tear trickled down his cheeks as he whimpered and shook his head. 

_He’s been so alone. He can’t take much more of this. If we don’t figure things out, he’ll die._

_If you want to save him, sacrifice yourself._

A gentle voice echoed around him, much less harsh than the one he had heard echoing back his words before. His body trembled as his breath came out in puffs that floated towards the ceiling. 

“Save him? But how?” 

Before the voice could answer, the world cracked and shattered around him, and everything went black. 

\------

Yuuri woke to the sound of shouts ringing out in the courtyard. Victor’s arms had loosened enough to where he was able to wriggle out from against the other’s grasp. Victor whimpered in his sleep as Yuuri moved towards the door, hardly sparing a glance back. 

If he looked back, it would only be harder for him to see what the commotion was about. 

Peeking out of the room, Yuuri slipped out of the door and shut it firmly behind him. 

Footsteps immediately filled the air as Phichit, Leo and Guang Hong Ji reached the landing and spread out as they walked down the corridor. Yuuri let go of the breath he had been holding since the commotion had started outside and inside. 

“Yuuri! There you are! Yakov said to fetch you! We went to your room, but no one answered.” Phichit spoke quickly, taking gasps of air between words. 

“So you came up here?” Yuuri blinked, frowning. 

“Well, of course. Yuri told us you might be wandering around investigating. So, we figured we would look up here first.” Phichit stood up, brushing the back of his wrist over his forehead as Guang Hong Ji hopped from foot to foot. 

“We need to go.” Leo murmured quietly. 

“Go? Go where?” Yuuri asked. 

“Minako and the guards returned. She refuses to tell Yakov anything. She asked for you and Yuri to be there when she explained what she saw.” Phichit motioned towards the stairs. 

Yuuri ran past them and down the stairs, taking two at a time before Phichit even had a chance to move. 

Even though he didn’t know exactly where they were, Yuuri heard shouting and headed in the direction it was coming from. 

“-Us what you saw!” Yakov yelled. 

“I want to talk with Yuuri.” Minako sounded calm, but the tremor in her voice made Yuuri shudder. 

“Yuratchka’s guards are escorting him here.” Yakov growled. 

Yuuri approached the door and opened it. Yuri was dressed in a long shirt, and Yakov, a shirt and light bottoms. Everyone had obviously been asleep when Minako and her escort had arrived. Yuri raised an eyebrow as Minako turned her eyes on him, “Why are you still wearing your day clothes?” 

“That’s not important,” Yuuri sighed and turned to his teacher. 

Looking her over, besides the obvious sleep deprivation and distress etched in her features, physically nothing looked wrong. “Welcome home, Minako.” 

His mentor scrunched up her nose, tears springing to her eyes as she launched herself into his arms. “Yuuri. Thank the gods you’re safe.” 

Yuuri wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close as he felt his shirt grow damp with her tears. Her smaller frame shook as she buried her face into his chest. “It was terrible, Yuuri. I have never seen anything like it.” 

“What are you talking about?” Yuuri asked softly as she tried to gather herself. Taking a step back away from him, she brushed away her tears with the corner of her thumb as she tried to compose herself. 

“The village. They were all just...gone.” 

Yakov and Yuri exchanged glances, “What do you mean gone, Minako? There were hundreds of people in that town.” 

Minako shuddered and drew in a breath, letting it out slowly. “They were all dead.” 

The words hung in the air as tension settled between the four in the room. Yuuri felt a tremor run the length of his body. “Dead? Hundreds of people are dead?” 

Minako bit the side of her thumb and started to pace, “Yes. The snow got thicker and thicker. Once we reached the town, it was silent. There was no movement at all, just the snow piling up slowly. Some places it was so deep that it was up to the roof of some homes.” 

Yuuri leaned back against the door, pressing all his weight into the wood. 

His former teacher continued, “We started searching for signs of life, anything that we could find. We ended up going to the the main square. We thought maybe we would find some people there.” 

Everyone grew silent in the room until Yakov huffed, “What did you see?” 

Minako shook her head slowly, “Something I never want to see again. People were standing in the town square, not everyone but more than a dozen. They were all encased in a thick blue ice. Some were standing like statues, others had utter terror on their face.” 

Yuuri thought back to the dream he had just had and the ice that had surrounded Victor. 

_We have to move now._

Yuuri stood up, “Yakov. Yuri, for us to help you, there are several things we need to clear up. The first is Seung Gil Lee.” 

Yakov raised an eyebrow and turned his attention fully to Yuuri, “What about Seung Gil?” 

“I think he knows more about this situation than he lets on. The night I was attacked in the bath, only a handful of people knew. Seung Gil and I had never met before, but he was able to explain exactly what magic I used and that I was attacked.” 

Yuri growled and tugged at his hair, “I told you he was creepy, Yakov!” 

“Just because he had some information doesn’t mean he didn’t hear it from someone else,” Yakov pointed out with a frown. 

“When I asked him about the snow, he knew that it wasn’t natural but didn’t do anything to stop it.” Yuuri pressed. 

“He was probably at a loss, just like you and Minako were. This isn’t exactly normal.” Yakov muttered, rubbing a hand through his thin hair, a pained look on his face. 

“He said I should be on the right side of things. What do you think he meant?” Yuuri took a step forward, and Yakov stood up from behind his desk. 

“If you were so concerned, why only bring it to light now?” Yakov slammed his hands onto the desk. 

“For the very same reason you didn’t tell Minako and I about Victor being here in the fortress, and how close he is to death. You don’t trust us! How could we help save everyone if you don’t trust us with the truth?” Yuuri slammed his hands down on the desk leaning forward as Yuri and Minako flinched. 

Yakov visibly paled, and Yuri fixed his eyes on the floor in front of him. 

Minako looked at Yuuri and then back at Yakov. Her whole body tense as she stepped up to the table beside Yuuri. “Yuuri. Is this true?” 

Yuuri turned to look at his mentor, “Yes. Everything I just said is true. Victor is on the third floor. Vicchan led me to him. Yuri asked why I was still in my clothing from earlier, and I avoided the question, didn’t I?” 

“You were with Victor?” Yuri whispered, more to himself than the three adults at the table. 

Minako grimaced, “Yuuri, Vicchan couldn’t have led you.” 

Yuuri shook his head, “It was him. I don’t know who set it up, but Vicchan led me straight into Victor’s room. When I saw him and approached, he spoke to me and said he was cold. When he touched my hand, he grabbed me and refused to let go.” 

“What? Did that really happen?” Yuri’s head shot up as he stood out of his chair. 

“Yeah, he said I was warm, and he grabbed me and wouldn’t let go.” Yuuri insisted as he turned back to Minako. 

“We need to go to him after we leave here. He doesn’t have much time. I had a dream, well, it was less a dream and more a peek into his soul, I think. He was alone in a cold room, encased in ice sitting on a throne of ice. His body was partially shattered.” Yuuri continued. 

“If what you’re saying is true, he may only have days at this point.” Minako frowned and turned towards Yakov. 

“What do they have on you?” Yuri spoke suddenly, turning to the old man beside him. 

Yakov grimaced, “What do you mean, Yura? No one has anything on me.” 

“No. You are hesitating to act. You said Victor would be protected and fine if he rested. You told me to take over his duties and protect him. Ever since Lilia left you’ve been more in line with what the entire council wants.” Yuuri watched as the prism on Yuri’s chest started to pulse. 

“Yuratchka...Listen…” Yakov stood up and turned towards the other reaching out for him. 

“Don’t touch me!” Yuri growled. 

Yakov tugged his hand back away from the young blond as if he had been physically struck. 

“Victor was a handful, but you raised him and I as if we were your sons. What’s changed, Yakov? Did you really want Victor to grow weak and die?” Yuri took a step back towards Yuuri and Minako. Yuuri moved up to stand behind his young student. 

“Yura…” Yakov sighed. 

“Where is Lilia? Where did she go? You said she would be back, and a letter was sent and you said she had decided to stay further south until the weather cleared up. Is that really true?” Yuri pressed. 

The prism pulsed brighter and brighter as Yuuri grabbed his shoulder. “Yuri, stop you’ll overload the crystal.” 

Yuri flung his arms wide, “What does it matter? What does any of this fucking matter if my brother never recovers?!” 

“They took her.” Yakov murmured. 

Yuuri looked over Yuri’s shoulder, “What?” 

“They have her somewhere. I was supposed to stay quiet, and let them do as they pleased. They have my precious Lilia.” Yakov pressed a shaky hand over his forehead. 

“You could have asked us for help.” Minako sighed and turned towards both Yuri and Yuuri. 

Yuri frowned and tsked. “So that’s what’s been going on.” 

Turning, Yuri moved around Yuuri and slammed open the door. “Guards!” 

Phichit, Leo, and Guang Hong Ji stood in the hallway in front of Yuri less than thirty seconds after they had been called. Minako moved to sat next to Yakov, placing her hand on his arm. 

“Yes, Yuri?” Phichit who was normally all smiles, stood his attention, his focus on the small blond. With no smile on his face, Phichit looked infinitely more intimidating than he normally appeared. 

“Yakov has just informed me that we have some cleaning up to do. I want all of the council sitting in the dungeon an hour ago. Make sure none of them can talk to each other. I want you to make them rue the day they fucked with our clan.” Yuri hissed through gritted teeth. 

Phichit’s eyes widened as he turned and looked to Leo and Guang Hong, “Yes, sir.” 

Yuri turned towards Minako and Yakov, “I hate to ask this of you so soon, but do you think you can figure out where they have Lilia?” 

Minako stood and rubbed at her cheeks once more, slapping them lightly. “I’ll work with the guards to track them down.” 

“What about Seung Gil Lee?” Yuuri asked softly. 

“I think we might have a hard time tracking him down.” Yakov muttered as he leaned back in his seat resting his hand above his heart. 

Yuuri looked towards Minako. 

_We can’t just let him float about. If he does, we might lose the answer to the questions we still have._

Minako pulled her hair back out of her face and tied it up into a ponytail. She locked eyes with Yuuri and nodded slightly as if understanding his thoughts, “Do what you can to bring him down.”

\------

“Are you sure you can do this?” Yuri asked with a frown. 

Yuuri moved into his room as he rummaged through his bag. Yuri watched his quick precise movements as Yuuri pulled out two vials and tucked them somewhere inside the cloak he was wearing. 

“I don’t like fighting. I don’t like confrontation, but if I have to fight then I fight to win.” Yuuri murmured softly as he tugged his cloak around him and stood up. 

“Oh.” Yuri breathed out. 

Yuuri reached up and removed his glasses, placing them down on the study table. 

“Don’t you need those to see?” Yuri scuffed his foot on the floor as he shoved his hands into his pockets. 

“Don’t worry. I’ll manage just fine.” Yuuri brushed his hair back out of his face. Yuri stared at his mentor. With his glasses off and hair brushed back, Yuuri was handsome in a roguish sort of way. 

Yuuri sighed and moved towards the door. Yuri followed behind him quietly, “What should I do now?” 

“You should go check on the prisoners and see what Minako has learned. We may need to send someone out to Lilia tonight.” Yuuri moved into the hallway and quietly down the hall. 

Yuri paused, “I’m coming with you. You are way out of your comfort zone.” 

Yuuri blinked and turned to stare at the blond. “No. You can’t come.” 

“But I’m your responsibility. You are supposed to teach me, remember?” Yuri took a step towards Yuuri fingers grabbing into the black cloak his mentor wore. 

Yuuri smiled slightly and shook his head, “I’m supposed to teach you magic, not teach you how to use it in a fight.” 

“How do you even know how to use to to fight?” Yuri snapped, tugging on the other’s cloak. 

“I’m not ready to talk about that yet. It’s not something I’m proud of, Yuri, but when it’s time, I’ll tell you everything. Now, let go.” Yuuri narrowed his eyes at his student. The blond dropped the heavy fabric he had been holding. Yuuri took a breath and reached out tapping the others prism. 

“I will be back. I don’t like to leave anything unfinished. With what you know now, you would just hold me back. Please, listen to me this time. If you go, I might end up injured or worse.” Without another word, Yuuri turned down the hall, leaving the blond in the middle of the hallway. 

“You better come back, shitty teacher!” Yuri called after him. Yuuri couldn’t help the small smile that slid onto his lips as he sped down the hall. 

It was a methodical search. Yuuri slowly moved from room to room, looking for Seung Gil. The guards in the fortress ran around him quickly, seizing the members of the council under Phichit’s lead. 

From the sounds of the screams, Minako had begun her work as well. 

As Yuuri moved onto the first floor, something tugged at the inside of his body. Stopping, he waited to feel the tug again. 

_Left._

The tug was more insistent after he turned left. He could feel Seung Gil now, his magic was unmasked as if a beckoning to where he was. Yuuri narrowed his eyes as he stepped slowly towards another hallway, one that he had never noticed before. 

_Where did this come from._

As soon as he turned the corner, it was like all the sound just dropped out. Silence prevailed here, and Yuuri turned to look behind him, there was a line of text he had just stepped through. Turning around, he read it. 

_Spell of concealment and silence._

Turning quickly as to not be caught by surprise, Yuuri tucked his arms into the cloak, pulling one of the vials and uncorking it quietly. 

“If you’re planning for a fight, don’t bother. I’m not interested.” Seung Gil called out. His voice echoed around him making Yuuri tense up and press his back to the nearest wall. 

Seung Gil stepped out of the nearest room, his hands also in his robes. Yuuri frowned, “If you don’t want a fight then you wouldn’t be skulking around and hiding.” 

The other man tipped his head to the side, a small smirk playing on his lips, “I did it this way so you would be the one to find me. After all, I wanted to finish the rest of my part in this, and I’ve been wanting to meet you ever since I was told about you.”

“How did you hear about me?” Yuuri demanded taking another step towards the other. 

“There are a group of individuals that know all about you. They are fans of your work in Amerius. The things happening here aren’t just the work of a corrupt system or a power play. This is one piece among dozens about to surface,” Seung Gil lifted his hands where Yuuri could see them. 

“So there are more creepy men like you?” Yuuri narrowed his eyes as Seung Gil laughed. 

“Creepy? No. Just motivated and excited to do what we do.” Seung Gil spoke as he took a step forward towards Yuuri. 

“Motivated to do all of this? Hundreds of people _died!_. Victor is dying!” Yuuri spat out at him. 

Seung Gil shrugged and pressed his lips into a thin line, “They were weak, and this territory served its purpose. If you don’t fix it soon, even more people will die.” 

“Tell me how to fix it.” Yuuri reached out with his free hand to shove the other magi against the wall. 

Seung Gil’s head bounced off the bricks as he smiled at Yuuri. “I’m sure you can figure it out. After all, you were able to find Victor, weren’t you? All that’s left is to fix your shattered prince.” 

Yuuri pulled out the vile and before the other could act, he dumped the blue concoction over the other’s head, “I am done listening to you.” 

Seung Gil’s eyes widened as his body went stiff. 

Yuuri narrowed his eyes on the other as he left the statuesque magi against the wall and went to the conceal and silence spell. He placed the heel of his boot on it and looked back over at him, “For what it’s worth, I was a little nervous I would have to fight you, but obviously I shouldn’t have bothered. You have no power here.” 

Scratching his boot over the spell, the ward dropped immediately. 

A guard that had been searching near by stopped and stared dumbfounded. Yuuri waved at the guard and motioned towards the magi. “Please take him to the dungeon for me. I doused him in an immobility spell so he won’t put up a fight. Make sure he is by himself, and no one is to approach him without a magi present.” 

The guard nodded to him, “Yes, sir!” 

\----

The sun was just rising as the frantic pace that had been set was winding down. Minako, Yakov, Yuri, and Yuuri all sat down to breakfast together. Yakov looked completely worn out; Minako sat quietly stirring her spoon in her porridge; and Yuri dozed off in his seat. Yuuri rubbed at his eyes and sighed, “Is there time to sleep? I think we all need to rest.” 

“Not yet. Yakov and I are going to pack and get started for a neighboring village. Hopefully, whatever magic is freezing people solid has been delayed and hasn’t moved there.” Minako yawned and rubbed at her face with her hand. 

“We can rest once we reach the village.” Yakov agreed, stabbing through a piece of sausage with his fork. 

“I need to check on Victor.” Yuri yawned stretching his hands over his head. 

Victor. 

It felt like a week since Yuuri had last seen the other. It felt as if everyone had crammed enough activity into one night to last for weeks. But the bad feeling that Yuuri had felt in the back of his mind when wandering alone had dissipated.

“Seung Gil said something to me about Victor’s condition. I will try and find a way to have him at least on the mend by the time you get here.” Yuuri quietly sprinkled sugar on the porridge as he mixed it in and took a bite. 

“I know you can do it. Just concentrate and focus in.” Minako told him with a small smile. 

Yuri scoffed, “Of course he can. Especially if Victor is already reacting to him.” 

Yuuri hummed and shook his head, “Does he not respond to anyone else?” 

Yuri frowned and shook his head, “No. Normally he just sits there and stares into space. He’s never flinched, turned towards anyone, or talked.” 

“Maybe it was always supposed to be you.” Minako put her spoon down as she picked her napkin up and brushed it over her lips. 

“What do you mean by that?” Yuuri asked. 

“The vision that led us here wasn’t so much guidance as it sounded like a prophecy, or a cry for help from someone,” Minako confessed. 

Yuuri felt the blood drain from his face, “What? How do you know that?” 

“Normal requests don’t have any sensory details, but you described those things in detail. I wasn’t sure about it all or what it meant, but now ...It just feels like it was all meant to be.” Minako stood up, pushing her chair under the table, moving to the door. 

“We’ll leave in half an hour.” Minako called to Yakov who stood up and nodded to both young men before following the older magi out. 

Yuuri sighed, pushing the bowl further away from him. “I hope they reach her in time.” 

“What is going to happen if we can’t get the snow to stop?” Yuri asked quietly. 

“I don’t know yet, but while I might not have all the pieces in place to solve everything, I do know that a key piece is Victor’s state.” Yuuri stood up and rolled up his sleeves of his white shirt. He felt grimy and greasy, but he couldn’t focus on that now. 

Not when every part of his instinct was telling him to go to Victor. 

_He’s an amazing leader. We all love and look up to him for the things he has done._

“I’ll go to him with you.” Yuri sighed pushing his own plate away from him as he stood up and fell into step at Yuuri’s side. 

\----

The sunlight streaming in the windows and the cool fresh air did a lot in the way of diffusing the creepiness. The hall was still dim, but it looked normal. Yuuri moved quietly down the hall, much less worried about finding the room as Yuri nodded and motioned to the largest doors on the wing. 

“I’m surprised it took you this long to find him.” 

Yuuri hummed and pushed open the door, “Well, I was a little distracted with things. Also, there might have been a spell or a warning cast on the floor itself that stopped people from moving around here freely. I felt like I was drowning until I was completely in the room.” 

Yuri shrugged, “Huh, I never noticed.” 

Moving inside, the sunlight streamed from large windows behind the bed and to the right of the room. The curtains were drawn and held back with lavishly braided ropes. The sound of birds singing from outside the window made it almost seem like a normal lazy morning. 

Yuri moved inside and moved towards the chair next to the fire, plopping down on it as he turned towards the high back, sitting up on his knees with his head propped on the very top of the back of the chair. “Let’s see if what you said actually pans out.” 

Yuuri smiled and rolled his eyes, “Of course.” 

His body was tired, and so was his mind, but when he moved towards the bed and saw Victor, he felt at ease. The other sat very much in the same position he had been in the night before. His hair was braided again and drapped over his shoulder. 

If he had heard Yuri talking, he gave no indication, but as soon as Yuuri approached the bed, Victor’s eyes focused on him, “You came back.” 

Yuuri could feel Yuri’s eyes on his back as he reached down and removed one of his leather gloves. Victor reached out tentatively grasping his hand. The ice cold of his palm rested on top of the back of Yuuri’s hand. “I promised I would help you. I’m not going anywhere until we have this figured out.” 

Victor made a soft noise at the back of his throat as a smile came to his lips. “Let me hold you again?” 

Yuuri flinched. 

The other felt even colder than he had just a few hours ago. Without much more thought to it, he reached up with his left hand, unbuttoning the buttons on his white shirt and with some coaxing, he removed his hand from Victor’s own long enough to drop the shirt off his torso. 

“What the hell are you doing?” Yuri called out to him. Yuuri removed the other glove from his hand and slowly slid onto the bed. 

Victor’s eyes widened, even if he couldn’t actually process and understand what was happening, his arms wrapped around Yuuri and pulled him back into his lap. Yuri squawked indignantly as he motioned to Yuuri and Victor, “Do you have ANY idea how awkward that looks?” 

Yuuri shivered as Victor wrapped a blanket around them, and cold hands stroked over his skin. Yuuri rolled his eyes and looked towards the other, “He needs the warmth, and I need the connection. I’m hoping that if I fall asleep, I’ll be let inside him again.” 

Yuri grimaced and averted his eyes. He flushed as he cleared his throat, “Yeah. I think I’ll come back later. You seem to have everything under control.” 

Yuuri smiled at the embarrassed youth as he hastily made his way to the door. “Do you think you can have lunch delivered? Oh! Also do you think you can get Phichit to give you the cards? Can you also go to my room and bring my spell book?” 

Yuri grumbled something he couldn’t understand, but Yuuri was sure he would be provided with what he needed. 

\------

Opening his eyes again, Yuuri found himself in the same dark, cold room he had entered previously. The mirrors no longer revolved around the room. Most of them had shattered. The floor beneath him also had had a large crack that spidered out from one side of the room to the other where something large had definitely impacted it. 

The air was stale and snow fell silently from cracks in the glass window above where the moon no longer shone. Snowflakes landed on Yuuri’s exposed skin, numbing him and sending the cold down deep into his bones. 

_I have to figure this out now._

Yuuri took a step and then another. 

The wind howled outside the room as the beams above him creaked and groaned. Yuuri stopped advancing as his foot knocked into something on the floor in front of him. He held his breath and brushed his foot the length of whatever was in front of him. 

He could feel the large obstacle went further than he could stick his leg out to try and find a way to go around. 

_You’re smarter than this._

Tugging off his cord from his neck, Yuuri allowed his eyes to shut as he held out his crystal in front of him. Pushing himself to channel a gentle light into it, the crystal came to life pulsing gently. Yuuri opened his eyes and held it up. 

On the floor a beam lay crumpled and broken, pieces of glass stuck up around where the impact had come from. Slowly Yuuri worked his way around the mess, trembling from the cold seeping into his skin. 

Yuuri moved slowly, careful to pause and listen when a loud pop sounded and a chunk of the ceiling fell to the ground. 

His teeth chattered as Yuuri worked his way towards the large mass of ice and spikes that sat in the middle of the room. 

One step closer. 

Two steps closer. 

It felt like it was a short time, but also so agonizingly long at the same time. Had it been two minutes? Two hours? 

Yuuri wasn’t sure. He concentrated on his breathing, on the ice digging into his skin, and the towering crags of ice less than a dozen feet away from him now. 

Soon. 

Too long. 

Finally, he had arrived, and once again the light pulsed brighter in his hand as he stepped past the icy barrier. His breath was stolen from him as what little light filtered out. 

_I have to keep going._

_I have to keep pushing forward._

The ice that been so light before was no more. Only darkness and cold remained in its place. The oppressive power around his body pushed against him to keep him back, but Yuuri took one careful step at a time. 

He moved forward until all that was left was a throne and jagged pieces of the one he had come to save scattered all around. 

Yuuri let out a shaky breath as he shook his head, “No. I can’t be too late.” 

Slowly, numbly, he moved across the blackness to the faintly glittering throne. As he approached, the floor shook under him. Another piece of the ceiling had gave way. 

The strength started to leave his legs as he made it to the bottom of the throne. Kneeling before the jagged pieces of the broken ruler, Yuuri held out his crystal. “Reparos.” 

The crystal brightened and dimmed. 

“Reparos!” Yuuri held his crystal above his head. Slowly, the splintered and broken pieces started to glow. Yuuri’s arms became heavy as he rested his elbow on the seat of the throne. 

The air whipped around him, and it was almost instant. Where there had been only jagged pieces one moment, the next a frozen king sat back on the throne. Yuuri’s vision swam momentarily as he surveyed the frozen king.

“There you go.” Yuuri murmured softly. Letting his arm rest, he leaned against Victor’s cold leg. 

_What do I do now?_

In the darkness, a shimmering light appeared and in it a small boof sounded out. Yuuri lifted his head as he watched his familiar, his most precious friend, step out of the gentle, twinkling lights. 

_Yuuri. You are so tired._

The voice was soft, gentle, and everything he remembered it to be. “I want to help.” 

The small poodle moved towards him, sitting down just feet from him, wiggling its tail. 

_You are a good person, but are you sure you want to save him?_

Yuuri thought about the way people looked up to Victor, how Yuri visited him, how they had all wanted to protect him. He thought about the stories he had heard about him and how lost he seemed. 

Vicchan moved closer, crawling over Yuuri’s legs to settle into his lap. 

_Your mind is made up, let me help you._

Yuuri reached down threading his fingers through the curly hair, his eyes shutting as a smile played on his lips. “It’s cold here.” 

Vicchan licked his fingertips and slowly wiggled up his leg to Victor’s frozen one. 

_You will be just fine. You have the tools you need inside you._

Then suddenly, Vicchan began to glow. Yuuri watched as the young poodle grew big and glowed brighter still as his body faded before exploding into a bright white light that blanketed Victor’s frozen body. 

_Remember, I love you…_

Yuuri stared up at Victor’s form; where the light touched him, Victor began to thaw. Yuuri quietly dragged his fingers up Victor’s calf as he felt the warmth in the other’s skin blossom and steam billow off him as he thawed out. 

Small streams of water trickled down the throne, melting it and defrosting the room. The water flowed and pushed back the darkness that still crept around the corners of the space. Soon, Victor laid on the ground beside him, hands on his chest. Within his clasped in his palms, Yuuri found Victor’s slowly beating heart.

Reaching down, he touched Victor’s heart. It pulsed against the palm of his hand and started to glow. “There is so much damage.” 

_How am I going to do this?_

_The tools to succeed are inside you…_

Vicchan had said as much. Touching his chest, Yuuri shut his eyes and inhaled slowly. “Please, give me something to restore his heart.” 

The weight of something fell into the palm of his hand, and Yuuri opened his eyes. In his free hand sat a ball of shimmery red threat and a needle. Looking at the heart and back at the needle and thread, Yuuri let out a shaky breath. 

Pressing the heart back into Victor’s palm, he studied the thread and quietly threaded the needle as he bit the inside of his cheek. “I can do this.” 

_If you do this, you may die._

The thought rattled around his head, but Yuuri didn’t hesitate as he pressed the needle to one of the sides of the heart. Victor’s eyes shot open, and he gasped in pain. Yuuri tugged the thread through to where he had knotted the end. 

Yuuri couldn’t catch his breath. 

With each breath, he could feel more and more pressure on his own heart. He could feel every spark of warmth he had pushed into the magical thread. Victor gasped and sat up, reaching to Yuuri. “Stop! You can’t!” 

Yuuri shook his head and quietly continued each careful, gentle stitch. Once again Victor’s heart took shape. The threads that had snapped in the first place joined alongside Yuuri’s threads, repairing and mending themselves with the help of the threads from Yuuri’s heart. 

The further Yuuri pushed, the weaker he felt. His fingers felt numb. His insides felt hot and cold at the same time, and his vision swam with black spots. It felt as if there was a brace around his heart pushing and squeezing harder and harder. 

“Please, not for me. Don’t kill yourself to help me,” Victor whispered as his hand touched Yuuri’s wrist. 

Yuuri smiled at him as he finished the last stitch, “You’ve done more than enough for others. Even if you don’t remember your time here, this is more than enough. Live on and continue to protect those around you.” 

With that, Yuuri exhausted himself, his vision fading to black. 

\------

Everything hurt. 

Yuuri gasped and sat up. His vision faded in and out as he panted and reached out. Gentle hands found his, slipping his glasses into his palms. Trying to control his breathing, Yuuri quietly put on his glasses and let his hands fall to the bed sheets around him. 

Minako smiled at him, eyes glittering. “Hey.” 

Yuuri took a breath and held it, his heart felt as if it would explode out of his chest at any moment. 

“Hey,” he croaked, nearly choking from how dry his mouth felt. 

Minako grabbed the pitcher of cold water.. Turning back to him, she brought it up to his lips. Yuuri greedily gulped the water down, the coldness soothing his throat as Minako poured him another glass. 

“How is Lilia?” Yuuri asked quietly. 

Minako handed him the cup and made sure he was strong enough to hold it. “We found her in time. She is back and gave Yakov an earful for letting her be used as his leverage. I’ve always liked her.” 

Yuuri smiled though it felt as if he couldn’t quite muster up the energy to be amused, “Good. That’s really good.” 

Silence fell between them as Yuuri polished off glass of water. 

Minako took the glass from him, and Yuuri let his eyes fall to his hands clenched in the cool crisp sheets, “What about Victor?” 

He refused to look at her. 

All he heard from her was a soft sigh, “He’s weak and needs to rest, but you did it.” 

Yuuri’s head snapped up, “I did it?” 

Minako smiled, “Yes, you saved this Iron Fortress’ leader.” 

Yuuri wanted to smile, he really did, but he didn’t have the energy. “Oh. That’s great.” 

Minako’s smile wavered, “I told them that we’ve had enough, and once you were up and around, we would leave.” 

“It’s probably for the best.” Yuuri agreed. 

“I knew you would say that. Also, when you healed Victor, it appears that it also calmed the winter outside. Everything is thawing and going back to normal. I did more research and it seems that if a person is in limbo, they can release their magic from their body. Victor is an ice mage which is why it was eternal winter. The longer it went, the closer he was to death.” Minako’s words washed over him. Yuuri just brushed his fingers over the covers and then looked to her. Even with his glasses on, his vision started to fade in and out. 

_So this is it? I thought it would be instant, but-_

“Yuuri. What type of spell did you do? I tried to figure it out, but there was nothing in your books and nothing that I could think we’ve done together that would have helped that quickly.” Minako murmured as she reached out. 

Her hand touched him, and her frown grew, “Yuuri...your hand ...It’s cold.” 

Yuuri covered her hand with his and smiled at her. “It’s all okay. But we need to leave here by tomorrow, I want to see everyone at the tower.” 

Tears sprung to her eyes as she tightened her grip, “What did you _do_?!” 

Yuuri reached out and used the side of his pointer finger to brush her tears away. “Shhh. I made a choice. Someone who could be of use to a whole region holds more importance than some unknown interloper magi.” 

“No. How dare you. We are going home tomorrow. We can’t be here any more.” Minako’s voice wavered as she stood up and moved away from Yuuri. He watched her move to his pack and start to haphazardly shove all his books, parchment, and vials in it.

“Minako.” Yuuri reached out as if that would stop her storming around the room. 

She whipped around and pointed at him with a shaky finger, “No! You don’t get to try and comfort me when I’m mad at you. You are an idiot!” 

Yuuri slowly moved off the bed. The floor beneath him was already too cold. 

\-----

Dinner came before Yuuri even thought to blink. 

_Since when have I lost track of time so badly before?_

He hadn’t. 

His senses were dull, and even the food had lost it’s appeal, and tasting like ashes in his mouth. However, as Yuri, Lilia, Yakov, and Minako talked over the large dinner, Yuuri focused on trying to swallow bite after bite of the delicious looking food in front of him. 

Yuri watched him a frown on his lips, “Hey. Is something wrong?” 

The other’s voice sounded as if it were under water. Yuuri mustered a grimace of a smile and nodded, “Yeah, I’m just still recovering from healing Victor. That’s all.” 

Minako’s spoon nearly missed her lips. 

Yuri nodded and tapped the end of his spoon on the table. “Hey, so I meant to broach this subject earlier with you, but you were asleep for four days before I could. Since Victor is on the mend, I’m just taking over his duties until he can take them over again.” 

Yuuri felt his heart pinch in his chest as he nodded slowly, Yuri looked down at his soup and then back up at him, “When he’s better, I’d like to come to the mage tower to learn from you. I mean, you are my mentor and all, right?”

Yuuri felt as if he would cry. He saw the look Minako tried to hide, thankfully, no one was focused on her. Yakov and Lilia were focused on Yuri, and Yuri on him. Yuuri smiled and gripped his spoon tighter, “Sounds like a plan. We’d love to have you there.”

He turned to look at his teacher, “Right?” 

Minako smiled and nodded, “It would be great to be able to have another crazy, young magi running around again. It would keep the older ones on their toes.” 

“Oh. Yuri, before I leave tomorrow I am going to give you something I meant to give you before.” Yuuri forced his voice to carry above a whisper. 

Yuri leaned forward, “It better not be another stone that kicks my ass while you’re gone.” 

“Yura. Language.” Lilia gruffly commanded. Yuri flinched and lowered his head. 

Yakov frowned as Lilia turned to him. “You let him be that lax with his language, Yakov? You are always so soft!” 

“Actually, I think that’s our cue to go,” Yuuri announced, standing up. His legs trembled for a few seconds before he was able to move and motion for the young man to follow him out the door. 

“Yuuri!” Minako called. 

Yuuri heard her voice but before she could stop him, Yuuri and Yuri left the dining hall. 

It was night time outside, and the sound of crickets chirping filled the air. It was a cloudless night, and the wind could have been warm, but Yuuri couldn’t tell. His whole body felt frozen with numbness. 

“So what were you going to do for me this time?” Yuri asked softly. 

Yuuri motioned to the necklace the younger Yuri wore, “Take that off and mirror me again, okay? Listen very carefully. Remember, intention is everything, and you are going to concentrate on your favorite type of animal.” 

“Animal? Why an animal?” Yuri frowned, but obediently, he took off his prism and held it in front of him. 

“You’re going to say the words Infinitas Famlik Ordhr Krakt.” Yuuri informed him. 

Yuri did as he was told, his eyes glowing as the bright light inside his prism sparked to life. “Infinitas Famlik Ordhr Krakt!” 

Suddenly, the wind picked up around them, whipping back and forth between them. Yuri held up his hand and stirred his fingers in a circle. A circle crackled and sparked to life between them as Yuuri smiled, “Imagine that animal now, Yuri. Picture it clear as day in your head.” 

Yuri stared into the sparking magic between them as Yuuri flicked his fingers once, twice. 

There was an explosion between them as the sparks burst out and then quickly shrank back together on the ground. Yuri let go of the breath he held, and Yuuri reached down scooping up the small cat. 

“What the hell did we do?” Yuri murmured as he stepped forward looking at the creature that Yuuri held. It took all his strength not to drop the small fluffy ball. 

“Say hello to your most loyal companion, Yuri. You just created a familiar.” Yuri balked at the small creature and reached out to gently ease the kitten from Yuuri’s arms. 

“Wow…” Yuri murmured with wonder as a tenderness filled his face. 

“Wow…” Yuuri agreed breathlessly. 

“It is a nice evening indeed…” The cat purred lazily as it snuggled up to Yuri’s chest. 

“It can talk?” Yuri blinked and looked down at the small animal. 

“You can thank your mentor for giving you a boost to give me a voice. I am an old soul who will keep you company and look after you.” The kitten informed her master as she wiggled up to sit on his shoulder. 

Yuri looked at Yuuri and bit his lower lip, “Thank you.” 

Yuuri finally felt as if he could smile again. 

\---- 

The morning came too quickly as Yuuri woke up before the crack of dawn. Minako had insisted in sharing his bed. The sunlight streamed through the windows looking so peaceful and hazy. 

Yuuri sat up and nudged Minako awake. 

His teacher grunted and turned over to stare at him. “It takes dying to wake up up at the crack of dawn.” 

Yuuri rolled his eyes and slid from the bed to the ground. He puttered around, checking his bags and such before Minako started to move around. 

“It’ll be easier this way. If we don’t have to say goodbye, then I won’t feel like I need to stay.” Yuuri explained. 

“I see. Well, I’ll head outside to ready the gift horses, and then I’ll meet you down there in ten minutes?” Minako hummed as she straightened his cloak for him. Yuuri let her fuss before he watched her finally take off through the door. 

He followed soon after. Beside his door stood Potya, Yuri’s familiar. “Yuuri, the little master will be upset you didn’t say goodbye.” 

“I know, but it’s for the best.” Yuuri reached down, brushing his fingers over the top of her head. She purred for him and rubbed against his legs. 

“Do you think you can let him know about the letter in the top drawer of my desk in a month or so?” The cat purred and rubbed against his ankle. He could barely feel the gentle pressure of her against him. 

“Yes. You are a very cruel creature not telling him yourself.” Potya murmured softly. 

“It’s true. I’m a coward.” He told the cat softly. 

Standing up, Yuuri made his way to the courtyard. Seeing his teacher on a large white horse ready to go, Yuuri moved towards the young black horse that Yuri had picked out for him. He patted the horse on the side of the neck before hoisting himself up onto the saddle. 

Moving towards the gates, the guards opened them, and their short journey back to the mage tower began. 

Forcing himself not to look back, Yuuri concentrated on trying to keep himself upright in the saddle. Because he didn’t look back, he didn’t notice the silver haired man sitting at the window watching them. 

Without the snow in their way, the trip took less time than it had on the way up. Of course, they had stopped by the Nishigori’s and were treated to the sight of three new born children each nestled in their wooden cribs. 

“We haven’t thought of names yet, but we will send word when we do.” Yuuko spoke with a kind smile from her seat behind the middle of the three cribs. Minako checked on Takeshi’s leg which had healed just fine. 

“Things have changed so much in a few days time.” Minako marvelled as they got back on the road. 

The final stretch was the hardest. 

The scenery changed little by little as they approached the village underneath the mage tower. It was a sight that Yuuri could barely see, but he could feel it in his bones. The cold that wrapped around him kept him awake, and the bouncing of the horse made it impossible to fall asleep. 

_Keep going. Just a little further._

The words played over and over in his mind as he tried to hold out. But even stubbornness had its limits. 

Minako grabbed the reigns on his horse and held them for him. “Yuuri, look. We’re home.” 

Yuuri looked up at the tower, his heart swelling as he felt tears trickle from the corners of his eyes. “I’m home…” 

His strength finally gave out, and Yuuri felt himself pitching to the side, off of the horse. He waited for the feel of the ground, but it never came. 

Instead, Yuuri felt himself cradled in someone’s arms and a gentle hand over his eyes, “Sleep.”  
\----

Victor sat at the chair he had moved beside the window. 

The Spring had sprung too quick, and now due to the extended Winter, Summer was biting at Spring’s heels. Normally any cold or any illness left Victor quick, but the feel of cold and death was not so easy to banish. Three weeks Victor had laid in his bed recuperating. 

His second week that was when he started to see it, and it was only in moments of utter silence. 

Yuri made sure to come around and give him reports about what had come to pass and what he and Yakov were doing to clean up the mess that had been left behind when he had nearly kicked the bucket. 

“You’ll get to take over this shit soon. I will be leaving to go continue my training with the mages.” Yuri boasted, showing off the green prism on the silver chain. The green matched his eyes. 

“Oh, will you now?” Victor chuckled as his younger brother sat on the bed with him. 

“Yuuri said that he would continue to teach me. You probably don’t remember him, but he was the guy that literally saved you from death's door. He also helped us banish winter here and-”

Victor tapped his fingers against his lips as Yuri rambled about the other Yuuri. 

There was very little he remembered from that time.

 _I remember being cold and then having someone come sit with me that was really warm._

In his darker dreams, he remembered sitting on a throne of ice, but there was always someone there with him, pushing him and forcing him back into the painful realm of living. 

_Was that Yuuri?_

Victor could never be sure. 

It was only when it was dead silent that he would catch the sight of the shimmering red thread on his chest and it led off outside the window. Victor had touched it once, but the spark that had ricocheted back into his chest caused a deep ache; it felt as if there was a void in his chest he couldn’t fill. 

So Victor did what he always did when he was out of his depth, he ignored the ache. 

But he could only ignore it for so long. After all, the thread tugged at his heart, and a gentle voice whispered in the silence around him. 

_Come find me._

Ever since his brush with death, Victor had also become more aware of his dreams. They faded in and out, nightmares, the best types of dreams, weird dreams, sad dreams, and silly dreams, but there was one that he had little information about. 

It didn’t feel like a dream at all. 

Victor found himself in a room full of mirrors and flowers strewn on the ground as the sound of a stream filled the room. In the middle of the room in a glass coffin was a man that he had seen in countless dreams. He had also seen him as he had sat at the window one morning. 

The stranger that rode out the front gates and never turned to look back over his shoulder as he left. 

_Yuuri?_

Suddenly, the young man wasn’t in the coffin but right beside him, dressed in a simple black button down shirt and a nice pair of pants. His dark eyes held a spark of mischief and surprise. 

“How did you find me here?” Yuuri asked, his eyes wide. 

Victor turned to face him as he cupped the young man’s cheek. “I just slept and found myself here.” 

Yuuri pressed his hand against Victor’s chest touching the red thread protruding there. “It’s because we’re connected, I guess.” 

“Connected?” Victor parroted back at him. 

“Yes. I gave most of myself to create the thread to fix your heart so you could live.” Yuuri’s fingers brushed over the string on Victor’s chest tracing it to his own chest. 

“You used your heart to save mine?” Victor grimaced waiting for the sting of emptiness, but it never came. Instead, it was a steady warmth that filled him head to toe. 

Yuuri smiled at him, “It was my atonement for my sins.” 

Victor frowned, “That’s not fair.” 

Yuuri turned, leaning down to pick up a rose from the ground. “You’re not the only one that thinks so. I was able to make it back to the mage tower in time, and they placed me in a magic stasis until they can find a way to create a more even bond.” 

Victor reached down, grabbing a rose by the stem, but the thorns pricked his hand, and he dropped it with a hiss. Yuuri offered the rose in his hand to the other, “Don’t be afraid, Victor. You owe me nothing, just live and continue to be just and protect those close to you.” 

“I want to come to you.” The words tumbled out of his mouth as he dropped the rose and wrapped his arms around the other’s fragile form. 

Yuuri tensed in his arms until finally he reached up and returned the hug. 

“I’ve always been broken, Victor. There is nothing more I can offer you.” Yuuri’s voice trembled. 

“I don’t need anything else. You’ve given me enough. I just want to meet you and get to know you.” Victor leaned back to stare down at the smaller man in his arms. 

Yuuri smiled up at him tentatively as he nodded. “If that’s true. Come find me.” 

_Come find me._

\----

It was the middle of the night when Victor woke up. 

Looking around the quiet room, he stood up brushing his long hair behind him. It took him no time at all to throw on riding clothes. He rummaged around his drawers grabbing a pack and tossing in small trinkets he could trade for places to stay and for meals. 

Stopping in front of one of the mirrors on the wall, Victor studied himself. 

_I don’t think I’ve ever looked so weak but felt so determined._

Dressing himself in normal looking clothing, he quietly took one more look at the room he would be leaving. Looking down at his chest, he could see the thread shimmering softly in the dim light. It was a weight on his chest that had only lessened when he had Yuuri by his side. 

Quietly, Victor snuck down the hall and made it to the stables. 

The workers were not in yet as the horses were not ready to be rode. They wouldn’t arrive for several more hours and raise the alarm that their leader’s horse was gone. 

Moving to the grey dappled mare, he patted the older horse’s neck and slowly started to fit on the equipment. A light appeared behind him, “Vitya, what are you doing?” 

Yuri stood dressed with Potya on his shoulder, tail flicking slowly. 

“I’m going to see Yuuri,” Victor murmured as he turned back slowly, laying the saddle and fitting it on his ride. 

“Any reason it’s in the middle of the night?” Yuri asked, arms folded on his chest. 

“Because if I did this during the daylight, Yakov would stop me.” Victor hummed as he strapped on the saddle bags and stuffed them full of trinkets, tossing the bag he had brought them out in to the ground.

“That’s true,” Yuri agreed as he moved to his horse in the next stall. 

Victor stood up, looking at the other between the slats of the stalls. “What are you doing?” 

“I’m coming with you. It’ll be harder for Yakov to throw a fit and come after us if he has to keep everything going on his own,” Yuri reasoned as he started to prepare his own horse. 

Victor grinned and shook his head, “Yakov is going to kills us if he catches us.” 

“No, he’ll kill you. Someone still needs to lead,” Yuri pointed out. 

Both Yuri and Victor made short work of preparing themselves as they hopped on their horses and rode out. The men at the gate were too sleepy to realize that they had passed. Yuri pointed at the gate and crooked his finger. The door slowly opened just enough for both to sneak out without sounding the alarm. 

“Why the urgency, Victor? This could have been better planned,” Yuri complained. 

“Because Yuuri saved me, and now it’s my turn to save him too.” Victor urged his horse into a canter. 

“Let’s see how far we can get before they realize we are gone.” Yuri offered with a small grin. 

Victor mustered a smile as he spurred his horse on to the wooded path, “You’re on.”

**Author's Note:**

> This started out of an idea and a chance partnership with [ G-Oto-Art](http://g-oto-art.tumblr.com/) for [Yuri on Ice Reverse Big Bang 2017](http://yurionicebigbang.tumblr.com/). Her idea and concept art sparked so much in me that I can honestly say I could have written another hundred pages easily. 
> 
> Also, I will update here with links to the art. :3 
> 
> I hope this world charms you as it did me. 
> 
> Also shout out to [dreamerxatxheart](http://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamerxatxheart/works) who is not only a phenomenal writer (trust me guys, go check them out) but who beta'd this giant and was the most awesome cheerleader, and Furokuro who made sure to poke at me with a stick when I got stuck. 
> 
> If those who made it to the end are wondering if there is going to be more to this, the answer is...Probably? We shall see in the coming months. Like usual comment and kudos if you liked it.


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